News
9/20/16 Darmon Meader Book Now Available!
Vocal Jazz Improvisation: An Instrumental Approach by Darmon Meader
with demonstration CD by Darmon and Rosana
8/3/16 Vox Arsana "Turn it Up"
4/24/16 Texas Voices commission original song about food
4/7/16 SCATabilty - an iphone app to practice and record your vocal improvisation!
3/1/16 Wanna go to Vocal Jazz Camp this Summer??
4/1/15 UNT College of Music acquires collection of Grammy-winning vocalist and vocal arranger Gene Puerling
9/20/16 Darmon Meader Book Now Available!
Vocal Jazz Improvisation: An Instrumental Approach by Darmon Meader
with demonstration CD by Darmon and Rosana
- Calling all vocal improvisers! Want to add more altered dominant vocabulary to your brain? Want to sing more jazz lines like saxophone players? Want to just generally get better at improvising?? It's here! Darmon Meader has released a wonderful vocal improvisation etude book chock full of exercises and sample solos sure to keep you busy for years to come. It comes with almost 80 demonstration recordings, recorded by Darmon (vocals and sax) and Rosana (vocals). Available at www.darmonmeader.com.
- It's out! Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Jazz Competition winner Ashleigh Smith has released her debut CD titled Sunkissed! A former student of Rosana and UNT alumnus, Ashleigh has been signed to the Concord Jazz Label and her debut CD was released on August 26. Ashleigh commissioned an original song from Rosana for the project, titled The Beautiful and True, with a gorgeous string arrangement done by Sergio Pamies. Check it out!
- Rosana is delighted to have begun arranging for the Hal Leonard Vocal Jazz Discovery Series - a great resource for directors of young or developing choirs to try some vocal jazz. Her first chart for that series is Tain't What You Do, made famous by Ella Fitzgerald in 1939.
- For the seasoned jazz choirs, take a look at Mas Que Nada, Into the Fire, Moonray, Corn, and Evermore on the charts page!
8/3/16 Vox Arsana "Turn it Up"
- Slovenian vocal quartet Vox Arsana commissioned two original pieces from Rosana for their debut CD with Big Band RTV SLO! Rosana wrote and arranged the title track, "Turn it Up." Check it out on YouTube!
4/24/16 Texas Voices commission original song about food
- The Texas Voices Chamber Choir is finishing up their "Joy of..." season, having performed concerts themed around the Joy of Dance, the Joy of Christmas, and the Joy of Nature. This final concert of the season centers around the Joy of Food! Yes - Food! Rosana was delighted to team up with husband Gary to write an original song for them entitled "Corn." Rosana did the cappella arrangement, and it will be performed at the Preston Meadow Lutheran Church in Dallas, TX on Sunday, May 15 at 6:30pm. It'll be fun!
4/7/16 SCATabilty - an iphone app to practice and record your vocal improvisation!
- Internationally renowned vocal arranger and jazz educator Michele Weir has created an app for vocal improvisation called SCATability! It’s easy: Sing exercises, call & response and etudes with great jazz singers including Darmon Meader, Rosana Eckert, Greg Jasperse, Kate Reid, Justin Binek, Michele Weir, John Proulx, and more to come soon. Then practice your own with the backing tracks and when ready, record yourself and listen back!
- Vocal demos by professional jazz singers.
- User-friendly. No knowledge of jazz theory (chords, scales, progressions) required.
- Ability to record yourself singing with the backing track, hear it, and export your recording.
- Three different product types: Exercises, Etudes and Call and Response.
- Backing tracks available in a wide variety of styles, instrumentation and difficulty levels.
- Loop function to repeat of any section of a track for targeted practice.
- Mid-point locate function to optionally begin practice at the 2nd half of the track.
- Countoff on/off button to bypass countoff when desired.
- The mixer allows for adjusting the volume levels or muting any given fader: backing, vocal, or synth.
- The chord progression is displayed during the playing of any track, allowing you to visually track the progression in real time.
- In-app glossary.
- A synth track (vibes sound) that duplicates the vocal can be used as an optional alternative to the vocal, allowing for greater flexibility in development of personal style and syllable use.
3/1/16 Wanna go to Vocal Jazz Camp this Summer??
- Registration is open for vocal jazz camps across the country! Rosana is delighted to be a part of two wonderful summer camps:
- June 19-24 UNT Vocal Jazz Summer Workshop
- An intensive week of all things vocal jazz! Ensemble singing, solo singing, jazz theory, guided listening, improvisation, special topic lectures (topics include leading a band, phrasing a song, etc), faculty performances, jam sessions, and a whole mess of a great time. For all levels of singer. Ages 14-100, from any musical background. Pedagogy track available for educators. AND THIS YEAR, JUST FOR TEACHERS, there will be a Vocal Jazz Pedagogy Workshop preceding this workshop on June 17-18! Mark your calendars! Registration now open! We'll see you there!!
- August 1-7 New York Voices Summer Vocal Jazz Camp
- Ithaca College - Ithaca, NYThe Grammy Award-winning vocal quartet New York Voices hosts an annual vocal jazz camp each summer. Aspiring jazz vocalists have a great opportunity to work and sing with the foremost vocal jazz quartet of our time in an intense six-day workshop setting. This unique camp is open to high school and college students, professional musicians, choral directors and anyone interested in improving and developing their knowledge of the vocal jazz genre. Lauren Kinhan, Darmon Meader, Peter Eldridge and Kim Nazarian will work with singers and ensembles in clinics, ensemble classes, coachings and special interest sessions pertaining to the art and performance of vocal jazz. Pre-established groups are also welcome and encouraged to attend. In addition to New York Voices, the camp faculty includes long time friends and colleagues, Greg Jasperse and Jay Ashby. Rosana will once again present some 2-day courses as well as taking on the choir and private coachings for the camp auditors. Registration now open!
- Internationally renowned vocal jazz arranger and educator Michele Weir recently interviewed Rosana for her website interview series, now released as a podcast by MichMusic. Michele and Rosana talk about songwriting, vocal technique, tips for aspiring vocalists and more. Check out the video here!
- Also be on the look-out for a debut CD from Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Jazz Competition winner Ashleigh Smith! A former student of Rosana and UNT alumnus, Ashleigh has been signed to the Concord Jazz Label and her debut CD is in the making! She commissioned original songs from Rosana for the project. Lastly, Rosana is finally finishing writing for her newest solo CD! There are also soon-to-be-published new choral arrangements in the works for vocal jazz ensemble. We'll keep you posted on the progress of these projects!
4/1/15 UNT College of Music acquires collection of Grammy-winning vocalist and vocal arranger Gene Puerling
- The UNT College of Music has received music written by Grammy-winning vocal arranger and renowned vocalist, the late Gene Puerling, along with musical scores, instrumental arrangements and other memorabilia from Puerling’s widow, Helen. The Gene Puerling Collection will reside in the Special Collections section of UNT’s Music Library, and arrived at UNT on Oct. 27. The collection will be accessible for the entire UNT community and guests by special arrangement. It will be housed in UNT’s Music Library on the fourth floor of Willis Library. Those who would like to access it should give the Music Library staff at least one day’s notice to make the collection readily available. Contact the Music Library staff at musicref@unt.edu or (940) 565-2860.
- Included in the collection of the renowned vocalist and vocal arranger for The Hi-Lo’s! and The Singers Unlimited is music written by Puerling from his earliest days, beginning in the 1940s, until his death in 2008. The instrumental arrangements that often accompanied Puerling’s vocal arrangements will also be included in the collection, including music penned by Frank Comstock, Patrick Williams, Roger Kellaway, Rob McConnell, Les Hooper and Clare Fischer. In addition to musical scores, the collection will contain memorabilia related to Puerling’s life and work, including letters of admiration from renowned musicians, scripts from live television programs, and countless recordings made throughout his life.
6/9/14 Now Available! Freddie the Frog and the Jungle Jazz
- Rosana teamed up with popular children's author and educator Sharon Burch to create Freddie the Frog and the Jungle Jazz, a musical for young voices - published by Hal Leonard. Written for grades 2-5, it's a fun musical that includes five original songs, 26 speaking parts, and even a "beginner band student" performance option to feature some young players. The demo, recorded at Crystal Clear Sound, features Dallas's own N'Awlins Gumbo Kings as well as great vocals and script-reading from kids at Prestonwood Christian Academy, Liberty Christian Academy, and Mcauliffe Elementary School. Check it out here!
