jazz & pop

The search for new, original solutions. That is perhaps the simplest definition of creativity. The music programme at KASK & Conservatorium puts this competence at the heart of the training of students to become performing musicians, composers, producers, builders, artists. Because we are training you to be the music makers of the future. With certainty, we can say about the future: it will be different from today.

Creativity is everywhere: in interpreting an existing piece of music, writing a composition, song or arrangement, dealing with your audience, communicating with fellow musicians and organisers, building a portfolio, developing a stimulating study method, searching for the right sound, honing a narrative,... In short: in forming your own unique and authentic artistic profile.

To achieve this, the curriculum of the music programme offers a broad and solid musical and theoretical basis, with plenty of room for self-chosen specialisation. You can specialise in a certain style (jazz, pop, classical, experimental, etc.) in a certain field (production, songwriting, film composition, contemporary performance, etc.) or choose to broaden your horizons by combining expertise, genres and disciplines. Moreover, thanks to collaborations with the other art programmes within KASK & Conservatorium, this can be done across different art forms.

In our educational organisation, we also provide the necessary time and room to develop creative skills. Four times per academic year, the teaching weeks give way to project weeks, where guest speakers are invited and masterclasses are organised, where we focus on interdisciplinary cooperation and co-creation, on internal or external project collaboration, or on deepening certain facets of musical practice.

Your artistic practice as a performing or creative musician, on your instrument or in the studio, in a group or individually, is always accompanied by critical reflection. Besides the necessary technical skills, you focus on your own artistic development. How does your work relate to that of others? Where do your strengths lie and how do you best develop them? In applied theoretical subjects such as ear training, rhythm, music analysis and harmony, you will learn the necessary basic competences. General education like philosophy, for instance, creates a broader frame of reference. In your artistic practice, everything eventually comes together and you learn to place yourself within that broader context.

The music programme strives for broad employability in the professional field. During your studies, you will have personal contact with many people in the broad sector: first and foremost, your fellow students and teachers from all the programmes at our school, but also renowned guest speakers, programmers, visiting ensembles and bands in our MIRY Concert Hall and Club Telex, and contacts you get to know during internships or international exchanges. This is how we help you build your network, with Ghent, the UNESCO Creative City of Music, as your springboard.

To support instrument practice, there are subjects such as arrangement, harmony, ear training and rhythm class. These course units are largely practice-oriented. For example, harmony lessons are partly given at the keyboard and in ear training you learn to ‘hear with your eyes’ and ‘see with your ears’.  

Your creative development is given maximum support by the infrastructure (rehearsal rooms, stages and recording studios) and by choosing your personal focus in course units. The interaction between the different study paths is of great importance. You come into contact with songwriting, recording equipment, synths, sounds and software. Through interdisciplinary projects, you work together with other programmes within KASK & Conservatorium.  

Finally, the supportive practive courses create a broader frame of reference in which you learn to reflect critically. You research your place as a musician/artist in a broader social and historical context. Through work field exploration, concerts extra muros and supporting professional skills, you will effectively seek this out for yourself.  

The music programme at KASK & Conservatorium is an active player in the music scene, complementary to the educational training. Club Telex is our meeting place, with concert stage and bar. Here, our students hold jam sessions and we organise masterclasses, workshops and concerts with locally and internationally acclaimed musicians. To this end, we regularly work together with partners from the professional field (Gent Jazz, Democrazy, etc.) and numerous large and small Ghent concert halls (VIERNULVIER, Muziekcentrum de Bijloke, Minard, Missy Sippy, HA' Concerts, de Centrale, Democrazy, Hot Club de Gand, Damberd, Winter Circus, etc.).

High-profile artists and bands such as Loverman, Elias D'hooge, Meltheads, Ão, Lézard, Dishwasher, Ramkot, Oproer, Shht!, Amatorski, Absynthe Minded, Balthazar, Zimmerman, De Beren Gieren, Nordmann, Black Flower, Lady Linn, Isolde Lasoen, Lander Gyselinck have already gone before you. Now it's up to you!