200,000+
Alumni from our Global Campuses
The Bachelor of Music in Performance with an Emphasis in Jazz equips students with the tools to build a multi-faceted career in the professional music world as a jazz performer. The jazz studies program at Webster is based around the small group performing experience. Jazz students participate in student-centered ensembles, including the Jazz Collective, Jazz Combos and Jazz Singers. In addition to core music classes, jazz students study improvisation, jazz theory, scoring and arranging, jazz pedagogy and history.
Students who would like a music technology curriculum can add on the Department of Audio Aesthetics and Technology minor in Sound Recording and Engineering.
At Webster, experience several special study opportunities such as:
- Jazz students benefit from Webster's strong cooperation with Jazz St. Louis. The world-class Dennis Owsley Jazz Recording Collection is housed in Emerson Library.
- Study abroad in Vienna, one of the oldest musical capitals in the world and where Webster has had a campus since 1981. Student musicians usually attend the Vienna campus in the junior year spring semester.
Application and Audition
Become a Gorlok
If you plan to major or minor in music, you must complete an audition as part of your application to Webster.
“I selected Webster University to receive the best possible jazz performance education in order to reach my dream of being a professional musician. I believe music changes people, and people change the world.”
Brady Shropshire
BM in Jazz Performance, ’24
Webster Holds Longtime NASM Membership
Webster University is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). An important marker of standing among music programs in the U.S., NASM establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials for music and music-related disciplines.
70+
Years as Member of NASM
Bachelor of Music in Performance (BM)
Find out more about the overall curriculum, electives and learning outcomes for a BM in Performance with an Emphasis in Jazz degree at Webster.
Webster Means Practical Learning
At Webster University, our goal is to help you be your best. With a low faculty to student ratio, students receive practical advice and experience from their professors. Our advisors and faculty put students first so you can succeed.
Experienced Music Faculty
Jazz Performance
To learn more about our program and course offerings, email Dr. Bennett Wood, Director of Jazz Studies.
“If you have an interest in being a highly skilled jazz player or an expert in music technology, Webster is a great place to be. Our audio recording and midi programs will immerse you in the latest technology under the guidance of world-class faculty.”
Steve Schenkel, PhD
Emeritus Professor of Jazz
Dennis Owsley, an avid St. Louis jazz fan, donated his entire 54-year collection of jazz recordings to Webster University in 2012. Housed in Emerson Library in the Dennis Owsley Jazz Recording Collection, this gift is a benefit to students, faculty, historians, researcher and the community who love the wonderful art we call jazz.
Dennis Owsley hosted the weekly radio show "Jazz Unlimited" on St. Louis Public Radio
from 1983 until his retirement in 2019. He was a jazz album collector, aficionado
and historian since 1958, and saw most of the major artists in jazz in live performance.
He also wrote the award-winning book "City of Gabriels — The Jazz History of St. Louis
1895-1973."
Nearly all the music heard on "Jazz Unlimited" was from Owsley's personal collection, a collection that now resides at Webster University's Emerson Library.
This collection is of particular note because it includes LPs from the 1960s and 1970s that document Gaslight Square and the Black Actors Group. These LPs are a treasure for historians of St. Louis.
Much of the Owsley Collection is available for circulation in the Emerson Library stacks.
Arts in St. Louis
Check out these important St. Louis organizations.
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Contact the Admissions Office to Find Out More
If you have more questions about the program, your application or other enrollment-related inquiries, contact our Admissions Office.
Call 314-246-7800 or 800-753-6765 or send an email to admit@webster.edu.