Hope College is among the seven founding consortium members of the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC).

Dr. Brian Coyle, who is director of jazz studies and a professor of music at Hope, is one of the organization’s co-founders and serving as one of the society’s vice presidents.

The ISJAC seeks to unite and serve the international community of jazz arrangers and composers; to advance the understanding and appreciation of jazz composition; and to stimulate the creation, performance, and dissemination of new works and research.  The society will launch its first of many programs and events with the International Jazz Composers Symposium, which will be held on Thursday-Saturday, May 18-20, at the University of South Florida in Tampa and is expected to draw participants from throughout the U.S. as well as abroad.

In addition to Hope, the founding consortium members are Gustavus Adolphus College, Northern Colorado University, the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan, the University of Oregon and the University of South Florida.  More information about the society is available online at isjac.org.

Hope’s music program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the college’s offerings in jazz include a Bachelor of Music in jazz performance as well as a minor in jazz studies.  The jazz area features several faculty, and provides performance opportunities in small groups and large ensembles, private jazz instruction, and classes in history, theory, improvisation and composition.  Each year the program brings in numerous world-famous guest artists who give clinics, work with students and perform with student and faculty groups, including on a long-term basis through the Jerry and Jacquie Hurtgen Residency in Jazz Studies.  Among other activities this past year, jazz studies hosted a highly regarded Jazz Organ Summit in September, and the student Jazz Arts Collective toured Illinois, Nebraska and Colorado in March.