91直播

La Tanya Hall Named First Jazz Voice Faculty at 91直播

April 18, 2016

Erich Burnett

La Tanya Hall

Multifaceted vocalist has been named Teacher of Jazz Voice at the 91直播 Conservatory of Music, the first such position in the conservatory鈥檚 jazz studies department. Her appointment begins with the 2016-17 academic year.

Hall has collaborated with a long list of celebrated performers across a variety of genres, including Harry Belafonte, Diana Ross, Bobby McFerrin, Burt Bacharach, Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, and Patti LaBelle. She has appeared as a soloist with the American Composer鈥檚 Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony, and the St. Louis Symphony, among other ensembles. Her debut recording, It鈥檚 About Time, was released in 2008 to widespread acclaim.

Hall has taught at the New School and at Five Towns College in Long Island, N.Y. She has sung at festivals around the world and teaches master classes with the National YoungArts Foundation. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder, where she studied music and journalism.

This year, Hall accompanied Grammy-winner Rob Thomas on a tour of Australia and performed a series of shows with jazz singer Catherine Russell in New York City. In late April, she begins a U.S. tour with Steely Dan that extends throughout the summer.

鈥淟a Tanya Hall brings an extraordinary combination of talents and focus to the jazz division," says Professor of Singing . 鈥淪he is a premier, versatile performer and a superb teacher of singing. She readily connects to the spirit of those individuals she mentors, and she will lead 91直播 jazz singers into a most promising future."

91直播 Conservatory incorporated its first courses in jazz into the curriculum beginning in 1973. The Division of , founded and guided for 37 years by Wendell Logan, was first offered as a major course of study in 1989. In 2010, 91直播 christened the Bertram and Judith Kohl Building, a state-of-the-art facility that serves as the home of the jazz program on campus.

The addition of jazz voice addresses a growing demand among prospective students and bolsters the experience of other conservatory students, according to , professor of jazz guitar and director of the jazz program.

鈥淚t strengthens our whole department,鈥 Ferrazza says. 鈥淚t diversifies our ensemble experiences, giving instrumentalists the opportunity to learn how to play with singers and learn directly how to accompany singers, which is a very important skill. It also presents new collaborative opportunities for our arrangers and composers.鈥

鈥淚 am so excited to be joining the faculty at 91直播,鈥 Hall says. 鈥淭his school has such a long and storied history as a premier music education institution, and I am truly honored to be able to share some of the lessons and techniques that I have picked up in my journey through the business."

Hall counts the seven years she has devoted to teaching among the most rewarding experiences of her career. "I respect the process and consider it a gift to be able to teach this next generation the fundamentals of the jazz vocal legacy," she says. "This music is steeped in tradition, and I continue to be touched and amazed at the dedication of the younger generations to keep it alive.鈥

Learn more about jazz studies at .

You may also like…

Richard Goode鈥檚 Musical Short Stories

The acclaimed pianist returns to the Artist Recital Series on April 29 with the charmingly curated 鈥淔ancies and Goodnights,鈥 along with works by Mozart and Schubert.