Finding A Voice Through Jazz Composition

Despite growing up in a family culture that valued deference and "real jobs, Chinese-American pianist/composer Helen Sung had secret dreams of becoming a concert pianist. Then an unexpected encounter with iazz during undergraduate classical studies began dismantling her world, jump-starting a journey of self-discovery. Helen went on to graduate from the Thelonious Monk Institute (now renamed the Herbie Hancock Institute) of Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory, where bass legend and Artistic Director Ron Carter required her and her fellow classmates to regularly write original music, saying, "If you want to find your own voice, write your own music." Today, in addition to a busy performance career, Sung is also a commissioned, award- winning composer/arranger. For this masterclass, she will share her artistic journey and development as seen through the lens of musical composition.

Kirk Whalum is one of the world's most successful saxophonists and the genius behind many of the world's best-loved sax solos from Whitney Houston and Luther Vandross to Quincy Jones, Larry Carlton and Al Jarreau to name just a few.