jazzlib

Music Issue: Cultured Traveler - An Indie Scene That Comes With a Texas Twang in Denton - Travel - New York Times

Here's an article about the indie music scene in Denton, Tx -- home of the Univ. of North Texas. Sounds like a great place for young musicians!

S did a bit of research on UNT. Does anyone have first hand information about their jazz guitar program? Dare we visit Denton in the summer or would the TX heat ensure that S would never return??

VicAria

We spent our April vacation touring colleges, UNT being one of them. The weather was beautiful, but I would think the summer might be too hot. That said, you could check out their jazz studies department to see if they have any guitar camps during the summer.

Our D is looking at vocal jazz, and we could not have been more impressed with the faculty members and students we met. So I would think you DO want to tour when faculty members are present, and students, as well. If you can sit in on any rehearsals or classes, so much the better. We couldn't do the summer vocal jazz camp this year -- already scheduled out the wazoo -- but will be making it a priority for next year, if they offer it. A really good deal on pricing, and it's likely the main faculty members would be teaching.

jazzzmomm

UNT is (I think) the oldest jazz education program, started in 1947. It definitely has a reputation for being one of the top places to go for jazz. We ended up not looking at it beyond the earliest research because it seems to be large and traditional, which is just what some jazz musicians are looking for, but not my son, who is more into newer forms of jazz, eclectic (noisy, different) jazz, free jazz. That being said, I wish we had gone to visit, because, as you found out, Denton is a great music town, and UNT could have been a wonderful program.

-Allmusic-

Our experience was very similar to Jazzzmomm's (I think our boys would have had a fabulous time playing together...their jazz interests sound almost identical!); aside from the fact that my son did not want to go to school in Texas, the UNT program was too big and too traditional for him.

However, UNT came up again and again during our research phase. I really think it must be an excellent program, particularly for kids who are interested in playing jazz standards and traditional jazz, more than contemporary (yes, noisy, weird time signatures..."out there"!).

VicAria

You guys should have visited, and should have sat in on rehearsals or performances by the different Lab Bands. My husband used to play the bass and piano professionally for "straight ahead" jazz bands in the Washington DC area ... he was SO looking forward to hearing the One O'Clock Band in particular for "some kick-ass swinging". But when they played, it was completely "new jazz" stuff, and he felt like a dinosaur.
You will see the traditional jazz elements in the lesser Lab Bands -- the Three O'Clock Band turned out to be our favorite -- but there is alot of experiemental and symphonic jazz being stressed at UNT, especially as the "old guard" retires and the newer guys come into their own.

musicmom1215

jazzlib, I don't know where you're from, but if you are not accustomed to warm weather, I doubt you would enjoy Texas in July or August! June might be ok.

MomofWildChild

I'm sure the music scene is wonderful, but nothing else about Denton, Texas is very enticing.

violinmom

Denton is just a suburb of Dallas/Ft. Worth. No different than many suburbs...If you attend UNT, it's end of August through early May (they are already out for a week). So, unless you decide to attend summer school - you are free to go to places that are much more "enticing."

jazzzmomm

VicAria, what you said is exactly why I wish I had pushed it harder with my son! You just don't know unless you really examine a program first-hand what is there. For a kid from the East Coast, I think it's a hard sell to get them to Texas, but UNT is no doubt worth it for that student who is willing to stretch that way or has a far more agressive parent than my son has!

MomofWildChild

I wouldn't call Denton a "suburb". It's quite far from downtown and anything you would want to do- like the Galleria or music/sports venues. I lived in Dallas for 28 years and Denton was NOT considered a suburb.

thumper1

Agreed....Denton is a bit "far" to be called a suburb of Dallas. Between Denton and Dallas there is a fair amount of nothing as well...it's not like you are driving out of Dallas neighborhoods and into Denton. When we visited UNT, we found the outsides of the music buildings were not all that special, but the inside facilities were amongst the best we saw at many many schools. We were told, however, that most music majors DO have cars after their freshman year so that they can go to Dallas or to other area gigs. My kid loved the school but thought it was just a tad too far from the city of Dallas. The music progran at UNT is outstanding..and music in general in Denton is good.

VicAria

We heard grumblings from some of the UNT folks we talked to, the between-the-lines sense was that because UNT is a state school, they are victim to cost-cutting measures all the time ... and I guess there is a lot of bureaucratic paperwork that full professors have to do, which may be driving out some of the older professors ... but we saw absolutely nothing that would give us pause as prospective UNT parents/student.
As opposed to, say Florida State, where the faculty member we spoke to warned us about how students who have already been accepted are having to be deferred because there won't be enough money in the budget to service them all. A shame, because they had another nice music facility -- though UNT's was much better.