In his 15th year as Director or Co-Director of the Jazz Harmony Retreat...

Dr. Jeremy Fox

Grammy-nominated arranger Jeremy Fox co-leads the program at The School for Music Vocations in Creston, Iowa. He graduated from The School for Music Vocations in 1996, then earned a B.M. degree in Piano Jazz Studies from Western Michigan University. He later received his Masters degree in Studio Jazz Writing from the University of Miami, and a Doctoral degree there in Jazz Composition.  In 8 years prior as a full-time faculty at The SMV, Jeremy taught classical theory, vocal and instrumental arranging, studio recording, and solo jazz literature. He directed various instrumental and choral and vocal ensembles including the multi-award winning vocal jazz group First Take.  Since 2003, Jeremy has coordinated and led the SMV Vocal Jazz Camps around the U.S. and Canada (www.VocalJazzCamp.com), which this summer are in their 19th year.

He is active as a clinician, and has presented clinics and served as guest conductor of All-State and Honour ensembles throughout the United States and Canada.  He runs the SMV säje vocal festival and the SMV Vocal Jazz Festival – and which brought in such artists as The Real Group, NY Voices, Rajaton, Mark Murphy, Nancy King, and m-pact.

Jeremy was nominated for a GRAMMY® award for his orchestral arrangement of "All My Tomorrows" featuring Kate McGarry, off his "With Love" album (available on iTunes, and at www.JeremyFox.net).  He has also received 10 awards from Downbeat magazine, including ones for: Best Written Song, Best Arrangement, Studio Engineering, and for his vocal jazz ensembles.  Jeremy’s charts are published with UNC Jazz Press, Sound Music Publications, and with his own publishing company, Foxtrot Publishing.  He has written for: Kevin Mahogany, NY Voices singers Lauren Kinhan and Peter Eldridge, Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry, m-pact, Cadence, Sunny Wilkinson, Terence Blanchard, and Metropolitan Opera singers Eric Owens and Denyce Graves.  He travels around the world conducting a concert of his and other’s Bossa Nova arrangements with national orchestras and with Brazilian singer Rose Max. In 2013, a track he conducted on the album recorded from a concert earned a Latin Grammy nomination.  He has also twice acted as the guest conductor for the famed Henry Mancini Institute Jazz Orchestra, based in Miami.  For more info, please visit: www.JeremyFox.net / www.VocalJazzCamp.com / www.VocalJazzFest.com

with Dr. JUSTIN BINEK

Justin Binek is an internationally recognized jazz and classical singer, pianist, and clinician/adjudicator. He is a prolific arranger and composer whose works have been published by Sound Music Publications and Kerry Marsh Music. A contributing author to Diana Spradling’s groundbreaking book, Jazz Singing: Developing Artistry and Authenticity, Justin has presented, directed, and performed many times at JEN, IAJE, and ISME Conferences. Justin is currently an at-large member of the NAfME Council for Jazz Education, and he has served on the boards of Pennsylvania-ACDA and the New Jersey Association for Jazz Education. Justin was a guest artist/clinician at the 2013 and 2016 Standard Bank (South Africa) National Youth Jazz Festivals, he served as the director of the New Jersey Honors Jazz Choir from 2007 to 2013, and he has directed numerous other state- and region-level honors choirs. Justin is also a featured in-app clinician on Michele Weir's ScatAbility app for iOS. His published scholarly works include his 2017 dissertation, "The evolution of Ella Fitzgerald's syllabic choices in scat singing: a critical analysis of her Decca recordings, 1943-1952," and the original song "Oote" and the accompanying analysis, "Jan Hanlo's Oote and Jazz Music: A Compositional Journey," published in Ode aan Oote (Uitgelezen Boeken, 2016).

Justin currently serves on the faculty of Kansas City Kansas Community College as an Assistant Professor of Music specializing in Music Theory and Jazz Improvisation. He also serves on the faculties of the Halewynstichting Jazz Workshop in Dworp, Belgium, and the ProMusic Summer Camp in Tiffin, OH. Justin received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Performance with a Jazz Studies emphasis from the University of North Texas in 2017. Justin previously held faculty positions at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, and at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. Under his direction, the UArts Jazz Singers performed at the 2008 ISME World Conference; his UArts ensembles also gave feature performances at the Berks Jazz Festival, Ohio Jazz Summit, and DMEA, NJMEA, and ACDA-PA Conferences. At U-Mary, his Concert Choir and Chamber Choir were prominently featured in the Public Television documentary “A Soulful Sound: The Music of the Germans from Russia.” Justin earned a Master’s Degree in Voice Performance from Western Michigan University, and Bachelor’s Degrees in Music Education, Saxophone Performance, and Voice Performance from the University of Mary.

and with TOBI CRAWFORD!

Tobi Crawford is a highly sought-after vocalist, pianist, arranger and educator from Vancouver, BC, Canada. Tobi attended the School For Music Vocations in Creston, Iowa, while under the direction of Phil Mattson, the Grammy award-winning arranger and pianist, and recorded two albums with his flagship group: VoicesIowa in 1995 and again in 2000. She then moved back to her native city of Vancouver, BC where she completed her Bachelor’s Degree in jazz voice and piano performance with award-winning director, Réjean Marois. She then got her Bachelor’s Degree of Education in Secondary Music from Simon Fraser University. Tobi taught at the high school level in Canada for 10 years, teaching choirs, bands and music theory before moving to Shanghai, China where she was the Fine Arts Department head and Director of Music at Sino-Canada High School for 5 years. Tobi recently graduated with a Masters degree in Jazz Voice Performance from the esteemed University of North Texas where she served as a teaching fellow. Among the many teaching duties she undertook at UNT, she directed the Third Street vocal jazz ensemble and was the assistant director of the Downbeat award-winning vocal ensemble the UNT Jazz Singers. 

Tobi previously directed and chaired BCMEA’s Honour Vocal Jazz Choir in BC, Canada and served as a guest clinician and lecturer in her province. Outside of the music world, Tobi enjoys travelling and has visited more than 15 countries with her son and family members and hopes to do more in the near future. Dog rescues, crafts, and photography are more of her favorite pastimes. 

Tobi is currently a full-time faculty at the School for Music Vocations, teaching Theory, Arranging, Jazz Keyboard, while directing Audio Radiance, the Townline Septet jazz combo, plus Concert Choir and Chamber Singers.

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OUR PAST FACULTY HAS INCLUDED:

MATT FALKER

Kawai artist Matt Falker is a jazz and gospel pianist, vocalist, arranger and clinician. As a full-time professor at MiraCosta College, Matt directs the Downbeat award-winning Frequency vocal jazz program, teaches theory and piano classes, and is founder and director of the Oceanside Jazz Festival, a non-competitive vocal jazz festival hosted at MiraCosta. Matt was also one of a select group of teachers chosen as a quarter-finalist for the GRAMMY’s Music Educator Award. 

Matt distributes music through his own publishing company, Matfal Music, and many of his vocal arrangements are also published by Sound Music Publications, Sheet Music Plus, and JW Pepper. He is the musical director and baritone singer for professional vocal ensemble True North, who has performed at many educational festivals, and presented featured sets at both the Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conference and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Western Division Conference. Matfal Music also runs a series of one-day vocal jazz workshops for teachers and students called the Vocal Jazz Academy. In 2020, the Academy will be hosted in five locations around the United States.

A native of northern Michigan, Matt received his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo in jazz piano and his graduate degree from the University of Southern California in jazz voice. An active performer and clinician internationally, his recent appearances as a guest clinician or performer include festivals in Washington, Oklahoma, Illinois, Alberta, Manitoba, and California, including prominent events such as the Monterey Jazz Festival and the ACDA National Convention. He has also served as the guest conductor for All-State Vocal Jazz Ensembles for Washington, Colorado, Iowa, Arizona, and others. In 2019, he presented a performance of his singing, playing, and arranging at the International Jazz Voice Conference in Helsinki, Finland, and in 2020, he will work with and perform with choirs in Adelaide, Australia.

He has published an instructional DVD through Sound Music Publications entitled “Jazz Piano For Singers, Volume 1”. On Matt’s last sabbatical, he arranged and scored a new musical based on the life of Nat ‘King’ Cole, which premiered at Morgan State University in Baltimore, and will be performed as a staged reading in New York City in April 2020.

Matt’s most recent albums include his solo CD ‘Playpen’ featuring his singing, playing, and writing, and the True North CD ‘Voyage’. Matt also plays keyboards for the Los Angeles Chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America. 

For more info, please visit: matfalmusic.com / oceansidejazzfestival.com / vocaljazzacademy.com

Rosana Eckert

Praised as “a world-class artist” (Jazz History Online) and “bright and imaginative” (AllAboutJazz), Rosana Eckert wears many hats as an internationally renowned live and studio vocalist, songwriter, arranger, and master teacher of jazz and voice. As a vocal artist, she performs regularly throughout the United States and abroad, and she has performed and/or recorded with such jazz greats as Lyle Mays, Kenny Wheeler, Christian McBride, George Duke, Jon Faddis, Marvin Stamm, Bobby McFerrin, and the New York Voices. Her critically acclaimed fifth solo albumSailing Home, produced by Peter Eldridge, features all original music and was released in June 2019 on OA2 Records. 

A renowned educator, Rosana was the first woman to join the esteemed jazz faculty at the University of North Texas in the Fall of 1999 upon graduating from the program herself. Since then, she has helped build the UNT vocal jazz department into one of the best in the world. Herstep-by-step method book Singing with Expression: A Guide to Authentic and Adventurous Song Interpretationwas published by Hal Leonard in June 2018 and has been called “encyclopedic,” “groundbreaking,” and “the first of its kind,” taking singers through a series of exercises to develop their creativity, musical point of view, and vocal delivery. 

A prolific writer, Rosana’s many vocal ensemble arrangements and original songs have been performed worldwide, published by Hal Leonard, Sound Music Publications, and Rosana Eckert Music. Also a highly respected improviser, Rosana can be heard on Scatability, a vocal improvisation app by Michele Weir as well as on the demo tracks for Darmon Meader’s book Vocal Jazz Improvisation:  An Instrumental Approach.  She also collaborated with popular vocal group Groove for Thought, improvising on their video recording of “Groovin Hard.” 

In addition to her extensive live performing, writing, and teaching, Rosana works regularly as a studio vocalist and voice-over talent in Dallas. She works as the in-house voice for Dallas’ award-winning PBS TV station, KERA, she has sung or spoken on hundreds of commercials, album projects, publishing demos, and radio IDs around the world. 

For more info visit: www.rosanaeckert.com

Dr. KATE SKINNER

Jazz pianist and vocalist Kate Skinner maintains an active performing, composing, and teaching career in the western United States.  A native of Ogden, Utah, Skinner pulls influences from the bluegrass and classical roots of her childhood into both her songwriting and performing as a jazz musician.  In her teenage and college years, Kate delved into R&B, funk, and hip hop, genres that also continually find their way into her musical explorations helping to create her own unique voice.  Part of this unique voice is an obsession with alternative keyboard instruments and a study of the great keyboardists of jazz, rock, and funk. 

As a pianist, Skinner is in demand in a variety of performance styles and has performed with the Downbeat-award-winning jazz band from the University of Northern Colorado, Jazz Lab Band I among many other established large and small jazz ensembles.  Her work as a vocalist has seen much success among a wide audience of listeners across genres.  Kate’s compositions and playing have won multiple awards, including a Downbeat award for Outstanding Vocal Performance and a Jazz Education Network award for composition.

Kate’s most recent album release is a duo project with bassist Josh Skinner, titled “Skinny Squared.” It was released in 2018 and features several jazz standards as well as original compositions and arrangements of pop tunes. More information about this album can be found at www.kateskinner.com.

Skinner is currently Assistant Professor of Jazz Piano at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, where she directs Jazz Band II and teaches multiple courses in jazz studies.  She holds M.M. and D.A. degrees in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado.

Ryan Howe

Tommy Boynton

Singing 1st tenor and playing bass in the legendary vocal jazz ensemble The Four Freshmen, Tommy grew up in Aurora, Colorado. His musical journey began in the 3rd grade, singing in a children’s chorus, and studying piano and drums. Tommy’s love for music lead him to Phil Mattson’s prestigious School for Music Vocations in Creston, Iowa. He then graduated from the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts in 2012, where he studied with Dominique Eade and Ran Blake. Boynton continued to share his love and passion for music by returning to SMV where he taught for the three years until he joined the Freshmen. Tommy has shared the stage with several Grammy nominated musicians, including jazz pianist Fred Hersch, and critically acclaimed jazz vocalist Kate McGarry. He is an avid soccer player and cyclist and has toured across the midwest and around the Pacific Northwest on his bicycle, and believes there is no better way to explore an area or the world than on a bicycle. He currently resides in Des Moines, IA. While on the road, he misses his kitties, Alice and Little Brother, more than anything.