From the Top! Building a Dynamic Jazz Program
This 4-hour, hands-on, interactive workshop is designed to support beginning jazz educators as they build, develop, and refine their jazz programs. Led by renowned educators Bethany Robinson, Roosevelt Griffin, & Mary Jo Papich, this three-session workshop will provide practical strategies, foundational knowledge, and proven rehearsal techniques to help educators navigate the unique challenges of teaching jazz.
This Pre-conference event will take place at McCormick Place West in Chicago, IL on Tuesday, December 16 from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM CT.
Who Should Attend?
This workshop is ideal for band directors and music educators who are new to jazz or looking for fresh strategies to strengthen their jazz ensembles. Whether you're starting a new program, transitioning from concert band, orchestra or a college without jazz pedagogy, or refining your rehearsal techniques, this interactive, engaging, and practical workshop will leave you inspired and equipped to help your students swing with confidence!
Participants must bring their own instrument (ALL instruments welcome). Rhythm section backline will be provided as follows: Drumset & cymbals, keyboard & amp, guitar amp, bass amp, Yamaha Silent Bass
Attendees will be able to add registration for this event at the end of their Midwest Clinic Conference Registration. Due to limited seating, only Professional and College Student registrants are eligible to attend. Conference registration opens August 1st.
Registration Fees:
- Directors $100
- College Students $50
Tentative Schedule
1:00 - 2:10 PM: Session 1 - Setup to Warm-up – The Nuts & Bolts of a Jazz Program (70 minutes)
Presented by Bethany Robinson
This session lays the groundwork for a strong and sustainable jazz program by addressing key administrative and musical considerations. From program setup and recruiting to rehearsal planning and warm-ups, participants will gain the tools needed to build a thriving jazz ensemble.
2:20 - 3:30 PM: Session 2 - Transitioning from Concert Band to Jazz Band (70 minutes)
Presented by Roosevelt Griffin
Many students come to jazz band with a concert band mindset—this session explores ways to help them transition smoothly. Educators will learn how to integrate jazz concepts into concert band rehearsals, apply warm-ups to jazz phrasing, and introduce call-and-response, singing, and jazz articulation to develop authentic swing style.
3:45 - 5:00 PM: Session 3 - Jazz Ensemble Rehearsal Techniques (75 minutes)
Presented by Bethany Robinson, Mary Jo Papich, & Roosevelt Griffin
This session focuses on engaging jazz ensemble rehearsals, covering literature selection, rhythm section coaching, improvisation techniques, and strategies for working with non-standard instrumentation. A reading session of an easy swing tune will provide a model for effective rehearsal techniques, followed by an open Q&A discussion and information about the Jazz Education Network.
Clinicians
Bethany Robinson is a Yamaha Performing Artist, GRAMMY Music Educator Award Finalist, NAfME Jazz Council Chair, Past-President of the Indiana Jazz Educators Association, and serves on the Jazz Education Network Board. She joined the faculty of Purdue University as the Director of Jazz in 2024 after building the jazz program at Noblesville Schools from 1 to 6 jazz ensembles, where the top jazz ensemble was a 2-time Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington Finalist and Indiana ISSMA Jazz State Honor Band in 2023.
Robinson was the 2014 Indiana Jazz Educator of the Year, 2015 Noblesville Teacher of the Year, 2016 Indiana Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist, named a 2022 Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association, and the 2023 Indiana Outstanding High School Music Educator of the Year. She is a 2-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow, receiving grants to study jazz and culture in both the US (2011) and Brazil (2019). Bethany has co-led Indiana Jazz Girls Day since 2018, hosting workshops and side-by-side concerts for students around the state of Indiana to elevate student leaders through jazz.
Bethany has been a keynote speaker and presenter around the globe, including the Australia National Band and Orchestra Conference (2021), International Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic (2022), and the Indiana, Oklahoma and New York State Music Educator Conferences. Bethany was the guest conductor for the 2024 New York All State Jazz Ensemble, and the chief adjudicator and guest artist for the 2024 Victorian Schools’ Jazz Festival in Melbourne, Australia. She is a clinician and adjudicator independently and for Jazz at Lincoln Center, YAMAHA, Music For All, and an avid performer on upright bass, electric bass, and vocals.
Dr. Roosevelt Griffin III is a distinguished music educator, performer, and advocate dedicated to harnessing the transformative power of the arts. Born and raised in Harvey, Illinois, he developed a passion for music early on, mastering instruments like the bass guitar, trombone, and tuba. His academic journey led him to earn a Bachelor of Music in Music Performance (Tuba) from Northern Illinois University in 2001, where he also obtained his Illinois Teaching Certificate K-12 in Music. He later pursued a Master of Arts in School Leadership from Concordia University Chicago in 2011 and completed his Doctorate in Organizational Leadership at Argosy University in 2015.
Dr. Griffin is the Founder and CEO of the Griffin Institute of Performing Arts (GIPA), an organization he established in 2017 to uplift students and families in southern Cook County through the arts. He currently serves as the Walter Dyett Chair for Jazz Studies, Diversity, and Inclusion at VanderCook College of Music, as well as the Youth Ensemble Director for the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. In 2023, he was appointed Education and Community Engagement Director for the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, further expanding his efforts to promote musical excellence and accessibility.
His contributions to music education have earned him numerous accolades. In 2022, he was honored with the Dr. William P. Foster Project "Community Development Award" from the Music Education Alliance, the "Think Big" Educator Award from the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, and the John LaPorta Jazz Educator of the Year Award from the Jazz Education Network and Berklee College of Music. In 2014, he received the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, a prestigious recognition from the Golden Apple Foundation. That same year, his hometown of Harvey, Illinois, renamed a street in his honor as "Roosevelt Griffin III Ave.", a testament to his lasting impact on the community.
Dr. Griffin’s innovative teaching methods have been widely recognized and featured in Teaching with Poverty in Mind, an ASCD video by Eric Jensen, as well as in Teaching Music Magazine, Downbeat Magazine, and JazzEd Magazine. He has also contributed as a co-author to publications such as Teaching Music through Performance: Beginning Jazz Ensembles and Rehearsing the Jazz Band, helping to shape the next generation of music educators.
At the heart of Dr. Griffin’s philosophy is the belief that “being an educator is not a career; it is a lifestyle.” He emphasizes intentionality, care, and love in his approach, using music education as a vehicle to promote unity and diversity. His unwavering dedication to arts education continues to inspire students, educators, and communities alike.
Mary Jo Papich is a passionate advocate for arts education and the Co-Founder and first president of the Jazz Education Network (JEN). A recipient of the Midwest Clinic’s Medal of Honor, she has dedicated over 35 years to public school education, retiring as Fine Arts Chair at Highland Park High School and serving as Director of Fine Arts for Skokie District 219 until 2012. As Fine Arts Coordinator for Peoria Public Schools, she founded the Peoria Jazz All Stars, a group that performed at prestigious festivals such as Montreux, North Sea, and Umbria, as well as at IMEA, ASBDA, and various national events. Prior to that, she was an award-winning band director at Peoria’s Woodruff High School and Roosevelt Magnet School for the Arts (K-8).
Papich has held numerous leadership positions, including serving on the GRAMMY Music Educator of the Year selection committee, the NEA Artistic Access to Excellence Panel, and as VP of ILMEA. She has also contributed to arts organizations such as the Highland Park Cultural Arts Commission and Central Illinois ArtsPartners.
Her contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Jazz Education Achievement Award from DownBeat, the Women in Jazz Award from the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and the Outstanding Service to Music Education Award from Tau Beta Sigma. JEN celebrates her legacy through the Mary Jo Papich Women in Jazz Scholarship, while Highland Park High School annually presents the MJ Papich Leadership Scholarship. In 2018, she was named Outstanding Jazz Educator of the Year by the Chicago Jazz Institute, and in 2019, she received the prestigious Midwest Clinic Medal of Honor.
She is the editor of The Jazz Educator’s Cookbook and Rehearsing the Jazz Band, both published by Meredith Music, with proceeds benefiting JEN. A sought-after presenter, she has spoken at NAfME, Midwest Clinic, IAJE, Siena Jazz Foundation, the South African Jazz Conference, and the Brubeck Institute, among many others.
Papich’s professional affiliations include JEN, ILMEA, NAfME, the Illinois Arts in Education Alliance, and ArtsPartners of Central Illinois in Peoria. She currently teaches pre-professional music educators at Bradley University in Peoria, IL.
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