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Jazz & Pop
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Course

Course

The options available after graduating in Jazz & Pop in Zwolle are unique in the Netherlands. You are widely employable, with a broad basis. You master various styles, have organisational and technical knowledge and a practical attitude. Jazz & Pop in Zwolle makes you versatile.

What do you learn in the Jazz & Pop course in Zwolle?

A key element of the course is optimal mastery of your major. In Zwolle, you can choose from eleven majors/instruments. Via your major, you are introduced to the entire spectrum of music. You discover your talents and your challenges. There are regular meetings and connections are made with classical music and other music styles. The proximity of the Classical Music and Tailor-Made BA Music in Education department at the Academy of Music facilitate collaboration with other students.

When you have tried everything and you have mastered your instrument, it is time to find your own way and specialise. Everyone has their own story to tell and you do that through music. Your sound is unique, but in Zwolle you do not study alone. Due to the course format, there is close contact among students and with teachers. Everyone plays together and realises that you will continue to come across each other and play together after graduating. This ensures that we support and help each other and raise our performance to a higher level.

Entrepreneurship is an important part of the course. After graduation, you can immediately start developing your plans and ambition in the work field, in your own company for example. After the Jazz & Pop course in Zwolle, the music world is open to you.


The ArtEZ Pop Orchestra is a good example of the collaboration between Jazz & Pop, Classical and Music in Education.


The project #MusicRevolution is a good example of the collaboration between Jazz & Pop, Deltion and the Fakkelteit/Hedon.

Projects and internships

  • A week in which the focus is on playing together, based on a theme, musician, genre or style period.

  • Workshops and masterclasses by guest teacher focused on your specific instrument. The students from Arnhem and Zwolle enrolled on the same major come together on the first day for a joint programme with the guest teacher. On the second day, there is a band in residence in both Arnhem and Zwolle. One is focused more on pop, the other more on jazz. Students choose the town in which they wish to do the master classes and workshops.

  • Check out another major or focus on the view of another teacher and take a class by a different teacher in the course.

  • Every year, the Vocals department in Jazz & Pop Zwolle organises a theatre tour focusing on the repertoire of a famous Dutch theatre personality. In the past, the theatre tour has focused on Ramses Shaffy, Henny Vrienten, Lennart Nijgh, Annie M.G Schmidt, Jules de Corte, Ivo de Wijs, Maarten van Rozendaal and Drs. P.

  • Projects together with the Classical Music and Tailor-Made BA Music in Education courses. A location-wide project week with concerts, workshops and master classes around themes like non-Western music and the human voice.

Masterclasses

At various moments in the year, various well-known musicians share their lessons and tips from practice with students. In the past, these have included John Clayton, Bertolf, Nelson Faria, Sabrina Starke, Miroslav Vitous, Gino Vannelli, McClenty Hunter, Bob Reynolds, John Beasly & Robby Ameen, The Yellowjackets, Peter Bernstein, Ney Conceição, BIGYUKI, Philip Catherine, Michael Abene, Dries Bijlsma and others.

The Jazz & Pop Course

  • The first year is the same for all Jazz & Pop students. Regardless of your background, the first year introduces you to many different styles. This lateral development is achieved through:

    • your major;
    • bands;
    • improvisation;
    • piano at your own level;
    • music sequencing and home recording;
    • education;
    • music theory;
    • workshops and masterclasses by nationally and internationally renowned musicians.

    Besides these subjects, you will also take part in several projects. This first year provides you with all the information you need to make a well-considered choice later in your studies about how you want to specialise.

    In the first year, you can also apply for the Honours Programme, to supplement the theoretical programme of your own bachelor course.

  • Your major still takes centre stage in the second year. But now you also choose some of the subjects yourself. As an elective, you can choose a second minor, home recording, music history, mental training or extra music theory. Every student must take part in at least two of the Academy of Art bands.

  • The number of electives increases from the third year. You can also do these electives at other ArtEZ locations. But there are still regular features, like individual major classes, band coaching, education, research skills, classical music and entrepreneurship.

    You do band coaching with your own band, which you have formed with other students from the course. These bands operate exactly as they would in professional practice: 

    • You rehearse;
    • You organise your own concerts;
    • You arrange the business aspects involved in a band, such as finance, marketing and law;
    • You record music in a professional studio.

    A band in practice mainly means playing a lot. In the ArtEZ concert halls, but also on the stages of partners and festivals. Besides making music, there is also a lot of focus on entrepreneurship, because you will obviously later be involved with the business side of your profession.

    In the third year, you do an educative internship. In this internship, you apply your skills in a professional organisation as a music teacher. You apply the knowledge, insights and skills that you have learned during your teaching lessons in the previous years. In this way, you ultimately become an independent music teacher.

    The content of the internship depends on what you want to learn and where you see yourself teaching later. Do you want to work at a music school or have your own practice? Are you interested in giving workshops, band lessons, ensemble coaching, projects with special target groups or do you want to become a specialist in your instrument? You think about these aspects at the start of the internship process and look for an internship that meets your needs.

    You can also choose to spend six months studying abroad and pursuing your own personal development. This is another option in the fourth year.

  • In the fourth year, you largely determine the content of your study yourself! It is possible to choose an intensive internship in the work field. You look for an internship which is linked with the content of the course, for example as an extension to your minor. In some cases, an audition or application will be required.

    Your final performance takes place when you have passed all the bachelor subjects. You will design this concluding concert or project entirely by yourself. This can be a pop concert or a jazz programme, but final auditions also include heavy metal, Latin, big band jazz and singer-songwriters.

    The final performances can be found at ArtEZ finals. Check out the site and visit the presentations if you are considering this course. It will help you find out what the students are involved in and what their final work looks like. These performances are also available on the Jazz & Pop Zwolle YouTube channel.

Music & Health

High demands are placed on musicians on a physical and mental level. That is why we at ArtEZ pay the necessary attention to healthy music making. We mainly do this during project days and weeks. You follow a series of lessons about healthy voice use and you learn to recognize and prevent work-related complaints.

Studying in Zwolle

You can find more information about studying in Zwolle here.

Doing research outside of your regular class hours

When you study at ArtEZ, you also get acquainted with research. Think of theory classes, material research, and socially engaged research. Within your course, there is ample support and space to discover what kind of artistic researcher you are. But outside your regular class hours, there are also special initiatives, activities, and workshops where you can work on research. Especially for students who seek further depth. Curious? Then quickly read more about the (extracurricular) research activities.

Doing research outside of your regular class hours