Blues Alley Youth Orchestra
The Blues Alley Youth Orchestra is comprised of accomplished student musicians ranging in age from 13 to 18 years old, and their mission is to preserve and promote the big band jazz art form. The Orchestra rehearses and performs under the musical direction of renowned bassist, Michael Bowie. Now in its 3rd decade, the Orchestra has performed at many of the classic venues in the Washington metropolitan area such as The John F. Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, Voice of America, Carter Barron Amphitheater, Wolf Trap Farm Park, and Blues Alley.
The Orchestra was founded in 1985 along with its parent organization the Blues Alley Jazz Society and performs musical selections by such masterful jazz composers as Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock. The Orchestra typically contains a full complement of brass, reeds and rhythm, and it attracts young jazz musicians from Frederick to Fredericksburg. Orchestra members take part in both civic and educational opportunities as they perform in senior centers, at community functions, and inside houses of worship.
Often professional jazz musicians on tour have volunteered in workshops and master classes when they stop in the District to perform at the Blues Alley supper club. Guest artists have included Quincy Jones, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Jon Faddis, and Terrence Blanchard.
Michael Bowie – Music Director
Michael Bowie is an internationally recognized musician, performing on both the electric and contrabass. With roots in the Washington D.C. jazz and gospel community, he was a recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts Award in Jazz Studies and trained with Betty Carter and Keter Betts. Soon after, Michael signed with Verve Records as an original member of "The Harper Brothers". He went on to perform, record and tour with Abdulla Ibrahim, Michel Pettruciani, including the Grammy Award winning "Look What I Got" with Betty Carter. Michael has expanded his musical interests and performance to include a wide variety of musical forms from jazz to symphony to rock. As musical director he has worked with many artists worldwide including Patti Labelle, James Ingram, Jeff Majors, Abbey Lincoln, Angie Stone, Isaac Hayes, Gil Scott-Heron. He has shared his talents in the recording studio and on the stage with Sarah Vaughn, Joe Williams, Manhattan Transfer, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Della Reece, and Michel Camilo and Ricky Skaggs. He has appeared on countless television shows such as BET on Jazz, Austin City Limits, Charlie Rose, Radio One, and has performed at major venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall, the Newport Jazz Festival, Playboy Jazz Festival, Montreux, and most other major festivals world-wide. His company, FamForte Productions is a family affair that provides a variety of multi-media services including music production, composition, and consulting. Their works can be heard in television, radio and the industrial markets as well. In addition to his personal musical career, Michael is deeply involved in developing children's music enrichment. He is a former teacher in Washington D.C.'s Public School system where he served as the music instructor at Fillmore Arts Center, Deal Middle School, and Oyster Adams Bilingual Campus. As a lecturer and associate professor he has taught at Shenandoah Conservatory, Michigan University, University of Missouri, and Bowie State amongst others. In addition, he has worked with the Wolftrap Institute for Early Childhood Learning program in Virginia, and the Thelonius Monk Institute in Washington DC. Currently, Michael serves as the Musical Director for the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra.
Upcoming Performances:
Jan 19 - St. Augustine's Church, Washington, DC
Feb 16 - Mid Atlantic Jazz Festival, Rockville, MD
April 1 - Big Band Showdown,
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Apr 10 - Organization of American States
Pan-American Day Celebration, Washington DC
April 27 - Songs for Sacred Music @ St Augustine's Church, Washington, DC
May 4 - Songs for Sacred Music @ Westminster Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC
schedule subject to change without notice.
Past Performances include:
• Big Band Jam
• Blues Alley
• Kennedy Center
• Leisure World
• Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival
• Organization of American States
• St. Augustine's Church
• The Hamilton
• Falcons Landing
• DC Armory
• Taste of Georgetown
• Taste of DC
• Smithsonian
• Georgetown Park Waterfront
• Sylvan Amphitheater on the National Mall
• World War I Memorial
• The Wharf @ the Washingotn Waterfront
• Providence Hospital
Mclean Project for the Arts Artfest
Our 2024-2025 Season has begun
The beat will go on! Here at BAYO, we pride ourselves in the quality of jazz education we provide. At the helm of that effort is our musical director and bassist, Michael Bowie (michael.bowie1@gmail.com). His 40 year career working with greats such as the Manhattan Transfer, Slide Hampton Big Band, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Sarah Vaughn, Joe Williams, and countless others, ensures that each student receives the highest quality instruction – direct from the source! Our record of facilitating graduating members of the orchestra, into the nation’s top universities, will not be deterred!
As we are taking every precaution to comply with regulations that will keep us safe during the pandemic, our operations will take on a new look this season. Here are the details:
Rehearsals
All rehearsals are located at Georgetown University.
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If you are selected (or returning) to the Youth Orchestra, you will rehearse on Sunday’s (unless notified) from 2 pm - 4:30 pm beginning September 15, 2024 at the Georgetown University "New North bld" lower level band room. You should enter the campus from the 37th and O street entrance only, walk just to the right down the driveway next to the large Healy bld, and 50 ft beyond that you'll see New North on your left. You must be registered for either to participate.
Performances
All future performance opportunities will be vetted by the executive director of BAYO, and ultimately approved by our orchestra parents.
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Auditions – OPEN ENROLLMENT year round!
Returning BAYO members automatically retain their chair, upon approval of the musical director. We always have a few chairs open to new members, made vacant by our graduates. If you are interested in joining our orchestra, please read the instructions below. All submissions are accepted year round!
If you are not selected for the orchestra, we recommend that you participate in our development class. Lesson will be designed to prepare you for the high level of big band concepts needed to become an orchestra member.
Blues Alley Youth Orchestra Auditions Materials and Requirements
Videotape submission should not exceed 7 minutes total. You must state your name, grade entering/school attending, and email address on the video. Upload your video to YouTube, and create a private link. Send that link to: michael.bowie1@gmail.com. You will be contacted via email with your results.
1. Play (vocalist sing/scat) one chorus of Charlie Parker’s “Au Privave”, and two choruses of improvisation after the melody. Bass players will also walk for two choruses.
2. Self Selections. Play (sing) two songs of contrasting styles, swing, be-bop, Latin, etc.
3. Excerpts and Scales. Play the excerpt for your instrument(s) from the “pdf” file linked below and the major scales through four (4) sharps and five (5) flats from memory at mm=98. Vocalists should sing the scales.
EXCERPTS: Play the excerpts for your instrument from the link below.
Vibraphone (same as guitar)
CADET Program
The Blues Alley Cadet program is a deep dive into the language of jazz music. Music is a language, which is spoken by imitation. As all languages are acquired in this manner, Michael Bowie will guide your student through this unique process of listening, singing, and performing it on their instrument. Once the student experiences the feeling and flow of the culture through active participation, they will begin to analyze this newly acquired language from a theoretical perspective, while we focus on building their knowledge of scales, that we’ll use in this regard. ***All levels of experience welcomed***
Registration and Payment:
Please register above. The yearly fee is $375. Payment plans may be arranged at the discretion of the executive director of BAYO.