ArtEZ Master in Improvisation

Michiel is head of the ArtEZ Jazz & Pop Department. This department has - in its establishment in the city of Arnhem - a master in improvisation, caressingly called "New Dutch Swing". The department is part of the ArtEZ Conservatory, situated in the biggest Art School of The Netherlands, in the same building with the other faculties of visual arts, dance, theatre and architecture.

New Dutch Swing is the course that emphasises improvisation as it is applied to a great deal of Dutch jazz.
Dutch improvised music freely uses various forms of music and improvisation that frequently overlap or succeed each other. In many cases, this is what makes Dutch improvised music so vibrant, and it often covers a wide range of emotions and moods within a short period of time. Here, cheerful, dramatic, tranquil and turbulent moments alternate in rapid succession.

Kevin Whitehead describes this kind of jazz in his book "New Dutch Swing". Whitehead has interviewed important practitioners of improvised music, and his book also includes a summary of how this music came into being and has subsequently developed as based on the Dutch musical tradition and temperament.

Improvisation has achieved an established position at ArtEZ. Here, students are coached by important contemporary representatives of this form of music, who guide not only the students' productions but also the development of their skills and - more importantly - their artistry. ArtEZ Jazz & Pop bachelor students are already given much freedom to make choices in their syllabus and are considered stylistically autonomous persons, Master students even completely compose their own curriculum, private lessons, as well as the plenary Jazz & Pop program.

The specialized "New Dutch Swing" teachers are Misha Mengelberg, Frank Gratkowski, Wilbert de Joode, Jacques Palinckx, Michael Vatcher, Wolter Wierbos and Michiel. And all other teachers at the ArtEZ conservatory (also in the ArtEZ Jazz & Pop bachelor free forms of improvisation are playing a major role) can be of help obviously.

Send an e-mail to Michiel for more information.