U-JAM YOUNG ALL STARS
The Young All Star program is a sequential program of development for students between the ages of 12 - 18 years, to study the spontaneous art and craft of improvisation, playing by ear, and performing in a small jazz group.
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Bring your instruments and your enthusiasm, and we will provide the rest!
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Now in our 19th year of creating jazz musicians...we hope you can come out to play!
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We are pleased to announce our 19th year of making jazz each Saturday afternoon starting in October at Selkirk Montessori School.​​
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Our program coordinators, Louis Rudner and Ashley Wey, both very talented musicians and instructors, have built a great program of keen young musicians, learning to improvise, understand music theory and harmony, and playing in a jazz combo. They are joined by special guest mentors selected from the best musicians and educators in the city.
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Scholarships and Bursaries are available to deserving students.
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Meeting times: 1- 3pm Saturday afternoons
Location: Selkirk Montessori School,
2970 Jutland Road, Victoria, BC
Spring Sessions start March 29th:
Final Concert:
June 15th at the Mint Restaurant
Materials:
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Bring your instrument
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Real Book
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open mind and ears
Drummers please bring:
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Sticks
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Brushes
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Cymbals
There will be a drum set and a piano.
Questions?
Use the form below to contact our team:
Young All-Stars Contact Form
Winter/ Spring 2023 Rehearsals
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April 15
April 22
April 29
May 6
May 13
May 27
June 3
June 10
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Jan 21
Jan 28
Feb 4
Feb 11
Feb 25
March 4
March 11
March 18
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NO Sessions:
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Feb 18 (Family Day)
March 25 (Spring Break)
April 1 (Spring Break)
April 8 (easter weekend)
May 20 (Victoria Day)
Young All-Stars Profiles: Alex Andersen
Young All-Stars Profile:
Alex Andersen
This is the first in our series of student profiles highlighting UJAM’s Young All Stars Program, a community-supported program that welcomes donations to ensure youth have access to music and mentorship.
Alex Andersen says his 16-year-old self hit the jackpot when he joined UJAM’s Young All-Stars program for jazz musicians. UJAM stands for Universal Jazz Advocates and Mentors Society. Now 22, Alex enthuses, “I feel that that the All Stars program turned my relationship to music from one of academic achievement to one where I could start appreciating what was going on and what’s so cool about things being taught.”
A trombone player, Alex was in jazz and concert bands in high school. His band director, Dave Flello, persistently encouraged him and other students to consider the Young All Stars (YAS) program to deepen their connection to jazz and hone their talents. A founding member of UJAM, Flello himself is a celebrated trumpet player and remains an active member on the UJAM board of directors. At the time he was teaching YAS and bringing in guest mentors like trombonist Nick La Riviere. Say Alex, “Getting to know professionals like La Riviere was one of the best ways to get acquainted with what it is to BE a jazz musician.”
“For young people it’s hard to find a group. At 15, no one has experience playing in a group but YAS will show you how,” says Alex. He attended the weekly two-hour Saturday classes for years, learning all aspects of musicianship from playing by ear to transcribing music to communicating with other band members. “I feel like what All Stars gives is a more intimate and very real connection with musicians who are actually playing jazz.”
Now taught by acclaimed Vancouver Island jazz musicians Ashley Wey and Louis Rudner, YAS is the deep dive that it takes for up and coming players to move from aspiring to performing musician.
Alex says, “It shows up when I’m listening to jazz and when I’m playing with friends in small groups. Having to learn music by ear – that’s a big one. It is so crazy different between school and YAS. You can tell who can play by ear. It’s kind of indescribable but it’s obvious.”
What’s not so obvious is the way the craft is taught. Alex points out that unlike some music learning environments that can be dominated by ego, at YAS students “are safe from doing anything wrong – it’s okay to mess it up.” And he gives full credit to YAS’s teachers. “Ashley and Louis are such nice people – super passionate about teaching concepts students won’t learn in school. They treat them like friends and there is a real sense of caring.”
As he wraps up his time at university pursuing a combined music and computer science degree, Alex says YAS was life-changing. “It provides a wealth of experience. You show up quietly confident and competent.”
The community-supported program is always looking for supporters who can donate funds or offer their time as volunteers. Donations to this important music program allow UJAM to keep cost to attend very low to reduce financial barriers. As well, scholarships and bursaries are available. Please consider donating to allow more students experience the benefit of Young All Stars!
- Susan Smitten