Evening Jazz Ensembles provide a fun, high-quality jazz experience with fellow young musicians throughout the Chicago area.

This program is a great way for students to keep up their jazz studies throughout the summer, and is perfect for students who are unable to attend a full-day summer music camp. You can take a summer job, attend summer school, and still learn great repertoire and prepare to play concerts.

Evening Jazz Ensembles takes place at the picturesque and historic MYAC Center in Fort Sheridan at 878 Lyster Road, Highwood, IL.

2024 Dates and Times:

June 24 - July 20
Rehearsals are on Monday and Wednesday nights from 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Final concerts - July 20
Jr. Jazz Ensemble & Sinfonietta Orchestra concert at 1 PM at the MYAC Center.
Sr. Jazz Ensemble & Festival Orchestra concert at 2 PM at the MYAC Center.

Levels:

Summer evening jazz ensemble students range from beginners, with respect to jazz and improvisation, to more experienced students looking to improve their command of jazz language and musicality. Students will be divided into two levels based on their experience. Both levels will be rehearsing at the same time.

This camp does not require an audition. All registrants are accepted!

Faculty

Drew Hansen is a Chicago trumpet player making a name for himself as a thoughtful composer and adventurous improviser who combines seemingly disparate influences into a cohesive musical statement. Drew earned his degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he studied with Chicago trumpet luminary, Tito Carrillo, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Charles Daval, and founding member of the Canadian Brass, Ronald Romm. Drew was a member of both the Concert Jazz Ensemble under Chip McNeil and the Latin Jazz Ensemble under Tito Carrillo. 

As a bandleader, Drew leads several ensembles of varied instrumentation. “Room Full of Chairs,” featuring Drew on trumpet, vocalist and bassist Katie Ernst, and saxophonists Artie Black and Dustin Laurenzi, is inspired by the haiku of Chicago poet, John O’Connor. Freely improvised compositions lend a soundtrack to O’Connor’s evocative poems. Drew’s quintet, the primary outlet for his more traditional compositions, alternatively features Artie Black and Katie Ernst (singing Drew’s original lyrics), alongside guitarist Sam Hasting, bassist Mike Harmon, and drummer Matt Carroll of Ohmme.

Drew’s debut album, "Stone Forest/Sun Shower," combines these various groups into one musical amalgam. The resulting record is full of lyrical compositions inspired by chamber music, haiku, jazz, and folk music. Drew’s deep interest in harmony, texture, and melody inform the album’s rich sounds, carrying the listener from one track to the next.        

Aside from a busy career as a freelancer, Drew also maintains an active role as an educator both privately and in various schools across the Chicagoland-area, teaching brass technique, music theory, and improvisation. He has worked with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic both through their "Jazz Alive!" series during the school year as well as the CJP Summer Jazz Camp. Additionally, Drew is the jazz band director at St. Benedict Preparatory School. 

Brent Griffin Jr. first arrived to the Chicago music scene in 2011 when he began his music education studies at DePaul University. He wasted no time getting involved with unique musicians in various musical contexts to sharpen his skills.

In 2022, Griffin, along with co-leaders Pat Mallinger and Lenard Simpson, released their album titled, “Perspectives.” As a sideman, Brent recorded on pianist Bradley Williams’ double album “Investigation,” blues guitarist and vocalist Guy King’s “Truth,” J-Livi and the Party’s “Come & Share My Life,” “Mixtape,” jazz trumpeter Marques Carroll’s “The Ancestors’ Call,” “Foundations,” and bassist Jeremiah Hunt’s “33.”

Griffin also enjoys writing and leading horn sections in various genres of music. In 2014, he led the horn section for the 1st Annual Chicago Gospel Music Awards. He has also written and recorded horn sections for artists Joshua Griffin, H.A.N.K, and ConSoul.

In addition to teaching independently, Griffin is also a faculty member at Stevenson High School. Griffin’s first exposure to MYAC’s jazz program was as a student during his senior year of high school. He is devoted to using his experiences as a performer as well as an educator to share the knowledge that was passed to him to all of his students.

2024 Summer Tuition and Refund Policy

Tuition is $375 for all 4 weeks of instruction.
Flexible attendance is allowed because of summer travel.

Summer invoices will be sent out by June 1, 2024. Full payment is due two weeks before the program start date. Cancellations made prior to this date will be refunded minus the $100 non-refundable deposit. Cancellations after this date will not be refunded. There will be a 10% monthly price increase for late payments.

For questions or further information, please contact us at (847) 926-9898, or email mya@mya.org.