While COVID-19 shut down travel, it could not shut down UofL working with the Universidad El Bosque of Bogota, Colombia.

Under the direction of UofL Associate Professor of Music Chris Fitzgerald and Javier Perez of the Universidad El Bosque, students at both universities collaborated remotely to produce jazz performances.

The result? Four YouTube performances – two from UofL and two from Universidad El Bosque – that show viewers the skill and expertise of the students from both schools.

The following performances are available online now and linked below:��

• UofL: ��
• El Bosque:
• UofL: “
• El Bosque:��

The schools have collaborated in person before – both program directors are alumni of the UofL School of Music – but the pandemic required innovative thinking to enable students to work together this year.

“Each student recorded their part in the performances separately,” Fitzgerald said. “Once I received my group of performances, I was able to use computer software to combine them. Javier did the same.”

And while Fitzgerald and Perez are looking forward to resuming their in-person collaboration, the remote experience has provided new learning opportunities for both faculty and students.

“It’s been great to learn how to put together separate remote performances into one cohesive presentation,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s something we now can impart to our students going forward to further their education.”

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of its with concerts, lectures, workshops and clinics Feb. 13-17.

The theme is “Third Stream:��The Fusion of Jazz and Classical Music,” and the featured artist��is Emmy Award-winning trumpeter, composer and educator,��, who is also founder and musical director of the ��He’ll be joined by members of the philharmonic, which bills itself as “America’s definitive third stream orchestra, where jazz and classical meet in harmony.”��

Davis will play with the UofL Symphony Orchestra and UofL Jazz Studies students in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 in Comstock Concert Hall. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for students and free for UofL students with ID at the door.��

Jerry Tolson, jazz professor, started the African American Heritage Institute a quarter century ago and has since programmed it to explore African American influence in a variety of genres such as gospel, jazz, classical and others.

“I’ve been doing it ever since to help expose our students to more diversity in music,” Tolson said.

In addition to UofL students, there will be about 300 local grade school students in attendance, learning the fine art of jazz. ����

The School of Music is also hosting its annual Feb. 21 and 22, which brings jazz music’s most celebrated names to Louisville for concerts, workshops, master classes and camaraderie for players and the public alike.

Acclaimed Jazz Trombonist and pianist�� will headline the School of Music’s 28th��annual festival.

Garling has been in high demand for 30 years as a performer, composer, arranger, recording artist, producer, teacher, director and clinician. He’ll play with UofL’s Jazz Ensemble I at 8 p.m. Feb. 21 in Comstock Concert Hall.

Goldberg was described by����as a “post-bop pianist of exemplary taste and range” and has released five albums as a solo artist. He’ll perform with UofL’s jazz faculty at 8 p.m. Feb. 22 in Comstock Concert Hall.

Tickets to Jazz Fest concerts are $15 for general admission and $5 for students with ID.��

Tickets may be reserved by calling (502) 852-6907 or they may be purchased at the door.

UofL’s Jazz Fest celebrates America’s indigenous music and is also part of the university’s observance of Black History Month.

Students and faculty are learning, teaching and performing in such far-flung locales as Ecuador, Costa Rica, Vienna, Austria, Denmark, Korea and Thailand.

It’s no wonder as “advancing the art of music globally through the work of faculty composers, performers and researchers” is�� in the school’s mission statement.����

“The faculty and students of the School of Music have been increasingly active from an international perspective for the past dozen years or more, with the current summer representing a kind of apex of these opportunities in terms of the nature of international programs in which we are involved and the numbers of music students and faculty members participating in some fashion,” said Christopher Doane, dean of the School of Music. “Our students and music faculty members expect to have these opportunities as a part of their UofL experience and we have been fortunate to have the international connections and network of friends, donors and music alumni to make these opportunities possible.”����

Kimcherie Lloyd, director of Orchestral Studies, traveled this May with 32 students – both instrumentalists and singers – to perform in Costa Rica’s National Theater for a concert celebrating the .

The trip, which included sightseeing, masterclasses and other performances, was commended in official letters signed by the president of Costa Rica.

It was the second such trip to Costa Rica for the School of Music. Students performed there five years ago as well. Both trips were a result of connections formed when Josue Ramirez came to UofL to study piano performance in 2010 as a Fulbright Scholar.

As amazing as that first experience was, this one was even better, Lloyd said. The

hospitality, comraderie and quality of music shared was incredible, she said.

“I cannot say enough about our Costa Rican friends who hosted us,” Lloyd said. “It was extraordinary … I think the students would say it was a life-changing experience. There were lots of tears when it was time to leave.”

Jessica Wise, who graduated this spring with her Masters in Music in Flute Performance, agreed.

“Playing the flute duet in the Bach Magnificat with my duet partner Katie McDonald in the National Theater was my favorite part of the trip. To play in such a beautiful hall filled with musicians and a full audience is an experience I will never forget,” she said. “My host family was also absolutely incredible and my favorite part of the trip too. They made me feel a part of their family and so welcome. It was very difficult to leave them. They invited me back to their homes in the near future, so I hope to travel back to Costa Rica and see them again soon.”��

The trip marked the beginning of a formal exchange program between UofL’s School of Music and Costa Rica’s��National University School of Music, which will ensure many more students will have similar experiences in years to come.

Other international trips for the School of Music this summer include:

Jazz in Ecuador

Twenty students and faculty from UofL’s jazz program joined Mike Tracy, Jazz Program director, for an exchange program at the Universidad de las Américas Escuela de Música in Ecuador. .

Music Therapy in Vienna

The music therapy study abroad program is traveling to Vienna, Austria and Denmark in June. The group will visit the University of Music and Performing Arts and participate in a music therapy career day with the famous Vienna Boy’s Choir. In Denmark, they will attend the European Congress of Music Therapy. Students will present a workshop with Petra Kern, UofL music therapy professor.

Cardinal Singers in Korea and Thailand

Kent Hatteberg will lead the award-winning Cardinal Singers on tour to perform in Korea and Thailand June 20-July 8.

Comstock Piano from Germany

Even the instruments are in on the globe-trotting action. Piano faculty members Anna Petrova, Krista Wallace-Boaz and Naomi Oliphant traveled to Hamburg, Germany, to pick out a new Steinway piano for Comstock Hall. The purchase was made possible by a bequest from donors Calvin and Helen Lang. to see Oliphant playing the piano before it makes its journey back to Louisville.��