Kim Nazaretov jazz school’s doors have been opened for child prodigies, talented and simply gifted in music children for 15 years already. The school is unique as it is the only children’s jazz school in the country with 10-year experience in education. The pedagogic credo of the school is orientation toward personality development and freedom of thought of pupils. The combination of native pedagogic traditions with unconventional curriculums and modern educational technologies give a stunning result: pupils’ performances at festivals, contests and concerts impress with their unchildlike skills and maturity of rendition. School’s graduates continue their education in conservatories of Rostov, Amsterdam, Groningen, Berlin, Leipzig, Denver, Lisbon and Lyons.
In the school the following specialties of jazz orchestra are taught: acoustic piano, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, percussion instruments, guitar, acoustic bass, vocal. “Aesthetics” course includes choreography, painting, acting technique, ethics. In addition, children are offered such subjects as “Orchestra”, “Improvisation”, “English language”. A special course is singled out of “Solfeggio” – “Rhythmics”. Starting from the 2nd grade children study “History of music”, from the 6th grade – “History of jazz”. In connection with transition to 10-year education, since 2003 there have been added disciplines from the course of variety jazz departments of musical colleges - “Composition” and “Arrangement”.
Author programs developed by school’s teachers have one common peculiarity – high developmental potential and ability to use split-level education.
This unique school educates unique children. Improvisation at the instrument, or music composing are as natural for them as breathing. 10-year old Vitya Kouznetsov, born blind, improvises bravely in the genre of ethnic music: Russian, Chinese, Arabic, although he has not been taught how to do it yet. 9-year old Sonechka Stativka composed blues, and performed it successfully at the concert.
Ability to “catch” the peculiarities of manners, genres, forms and styles of performance from the music itself is a sign of exceptional music faculties.
Experienced teachers keep a close watch on creative destinies of gifted children. Among them are pupils and pupils of pupils of the first jazz professor in the country Kim Nazaretov, who gave his name to the school. Bright performance talent of Aram Rustamyants, Andrey Machnev, Grigoriy Deratsuev and Vitaliy Petrov is undoubtedly passed on to their gifted pupils.
The distinctive feature of the school is children’s big band conducted by Andrey Machnev. The orchestra gives many concerts in Russia and abroad, bringing in new faces, changing repertoire and perfecting performance. Little children are also taught at school, those who showed outstanding aptitude for music. The youngest pupil Veseniya Deratsueva was only 2 years 9 months old when she started studying in this school! There is a specific peculiarity in work with small musicians: along with solfeggio and acoustic piano lessons, teachers study rhythmics with them, give them lessons in aesthetic cycle and English. All lessons with small children have a form of play, which makes educational process joyful and captivating.
This school is the first link of unique infrastructure of musical education (school – college – conservatory – postgraduate study – concert hall) and it participates (about 100 concerts a year) in practically every event of the existing jazz community.
