Published: October 01, 2006 05:50 am      

UCO pumps up jazz with new master’s degree

EDMOND — After more than seven years of work, the University of Central Oklahoma recently received approval from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to offer a new Master of Music in jazz studies, the first master’s degree for jazz in Oklahoma. The program will begin next fall.

Brian Gorrell, UCO jazz studies division head, said the approval came as a big relief for everyone who had been working with the program, since not receiving approval for the degree would have discounted all of the work that had been done.

“That sort of makes you sit a little bit on the edge of your seat, so it’s a great relief,” he said.

“We’re excited about it, and now it’s just a matter of getting everything read to offer this program.”

Gorrell said Keith Kidwell, who recently retired from UCO, and Lee Rucker deserve much of the credit for getting the master’s and jazz program going at UCO.

“They really built this program up, and I was able to just step in and do my little part,” he said.

The master’s degree program will have two paths from which to choose. Besides the traditional performance emphasis, a secondary option is the commercial music production path. In commercial music production, students will learn all of the technology and information required to produce a professional CD.

“We kind of tied that together in a way that not a lot of schools do,” Gorrell said.

“It recognizes the fact that our jazz program has done exceptionally good work, not only nationally but internationally,” said John Clinton, interim dean for the school of music.

The master’s program also will help cement UCO’s reputation as having one of the best jazz programs in the country, Clinton said.

“There’s no question that the UCO jazz program is known nationally, and we have people from all over the country who come to study here,” he said. “When I’m out doing work, it’s a rare place that I go to that doesn’t recognize the UCO jazz program as one of the best in the United States.”

Clinton said the credit for the success of the program lies not only with many people who have worked in the program throughout the years, but also with administration and UCO President Roger Webb, who supported the program.

“It really allowed our jazz program studies to flourish,” Clinton said. “It’s a wonderful program for the state.”