By Fall 2007, Loyola’s campus could be next in line to host the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance.

According to Robert Thomas, interim director of the School of Mass Communication, the institute is considering a four-year lease with Loyola and may arrive in mid-spring to interview candidates for scholarships.

“We are optimistic about this,” said Edward Kvet, Dean of the School of Music and Fine Arts. “But nothing is guaranteed until the contract is signed.”

The contract will provide the institute with a four-year lease of the Communication/Music Complex’s Studio B and its adjoining classroom located on the fourth floor.

Founded in 1986 by the family of ground-breaking jazz musician Thelonious Monk and the late opera-singer Maria Fisher, the institute offers college-level courses to gifted young musicians as well as jazz programs for public grammar schools.

In September 1995the institute expanded to include intensive, two-year college-level programs in private and ensemble environments, providing tuition-free courses with additional stipends to cover living expenses.

Spending the last eight years at the University of Southern California, the institute’s artists-in-residence include Blanchard, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.

Serving as a nonprofit education organization for young musicians, the institute will award six to twelve students from all over the world with scholarships, providing tuition-free courses taught by renowned jazz musicians and educators. If the contract is approved, the institute will make the formal announcement in February, coinciding with Black History Month. “This is a very prestigious organization – world renown,” Thomas said. “They will shine a light on Loyola as a key player in the world of jazz.”

According to Thomas, the institute chose New Orleans as a potential site because of its role in the history of jazz music and the need to revitalize the city after Hurricane Katrina.

The institute’s artistic director Terence Blanchard, a Grammy-award-winning jazz musician and New Orleans native, suggested that John Snyder, music industries studies professor at Loyola, get in touch with the institute’s executive director Tom Carter. The institute had been discussing offers from Harvard and Columbia, among other universities, prior to Snyder’s involvement.

“From the music business program, our public school system, our multimedia resources, New Orleans as the birth of jazz – it just all added up,” Snyder said.

“New Orleans is nationally and internationally known for its jazz,” Kvet said. “Having the institute here will create a natural, three-way tie with Loyola, the institute, and the city itself.”

The precarious state of the city’s education system was a major factor in attracting the institute, said Snyder. “New Orleans is a place with the greatest need for an impact on the educational system,” Snyder explained. “The music presence would be a boost for the city.”

Representatives from the institute were “blown away” by the campus and facilities, according to Snyder. “I asked Dr. Thomas if it would be possible to use the space on the fourth floor,” Snyder said. “What university can say they have open space?”

Loyola will have the opportunity to participate in the institute’s master classes, taught by jazz legends and open to all students. Kvet plans to create a consortium with other local universities, available to students throughout the New Orleans area to experience the breakthrough in Loyola’s jazz program.

Aside from participating in the master classes, students under the scholarship will receive an intensive, one-on-one class with a jazz mentor for one week of every month. The six to 12 “Monk scholars” will also study with the institute for two-year increments, giving the students an opportunity to travel and perform.

The institute not only sponsors master classes and performances on the host campus, it also integrates enrichment programs in local-area public schools, according to Thomas. The institute’s public school outreach program extends into social studies and sociology classes, bringing jazz studies into classrooms across the United States.

“I’m very impressed that these names … are willing to spend money to make an impact on the community,” Snyder said. “It shows a great deal of humility.”

Snyder also hopes to create a virtual multimedia network to use the master classes taught by visiting members of the institute for public broadcasting. “We may be able to outfit Studio B with video equipment for documentary-style filming,” he said. “The equipment can stay once the institute leaves, leaving a major multimedia center for the community.’

Snyder said he looks forward to an increased enrollment in the Loyola jazz program, hoping the higher interest in Loyola’s jazz studies program will boost the national stature of the university. “This could turn the jazz department into a major league jazz school,” Snyder said. “It’s the international art form this community can call it own.”

Alex Woodward can be reached at [email protected].