Besides being part of an excellent performance group with some of
the nation's finest soloists, the members of Ray Kamalay and
his Red Hot Peppers are well qualified to teach many aspects of the
music in its techniques, dynamics and history. Three of
the members (Andrew Speight, Pete Siers and Paul Keller) regularly
teach at the university level, at the University of Michigan and San
Francisco State University. As the former Director of Jazz Studies
at Michigan State University, Andrew led 3 Jazz Bands each term,
as well as assembling professional orchestras for the travelling Broadway
shows that came to the MSU campus. His lecture on the great
jazz soloists is an inspiration to us all in its insights on technique
and creativity. As was previously mentioned, he is personally
responsible for creating a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies
at San Francisco State.
Pete
Siers and Paul Keller both work as instructors on their instruments
at the University of Michigan. In addition, Paul has led a 16-piece
big band for over 15 years, amassing hundreds of historic and
original arrangements of big band charts, and performing them every
week ! His insights of section work, harmony and style
are second to none.
Besides being a stunning natural talent, Walter White has studied
with many of the finest programs in North America , including Julliard,
Miami and Banff. He has created a long-tone accompaniement
CD as a prime teaching tool. A resident of New York
State, he has been deeply involved in the music industry for over
20 years (supplying music for many soap operas, The Bill Cosby Show,
ABC's NCAA Football and CBS' NCAA Basketball). He
can provide realistic insights to anyone considering music as a profession.
Finally, Ray Kamalay presents a lecture
in American music history called "Freedom, Slavery and American Popular
Music". This is essentially a humanities lecture integrating
history, philosophy and music, attempting to understand the
development of our music from its historic beginnings with the
African slaves. It explores the short history of freedom, the
long history of slavery and Ray performs cogent musical examples.
