Mission Statement

To serve the community by sharing the gift of music, through connecting world-class professional musicians with students of all ages, in a lifelong study and enjoyment of music – while teaching valuable life lessons, and helping provide exceptional music instruction to underserved youth (up to half of our enrollment)

New School of Music, Austin

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  • The New School of Music, Austin is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community music school founded in 2013.
  • We are open year-round to students of all ages, have exceptional teachers, & teach all styles of music.
  • We teach in co-locations, in:
    • Greater Austin public, charter, and private schools
    • St. Martin’s Lutheran Church at 15th and Rio Grande
  • We scholarship underserved children (pre-K through 12th grade) up to 50% of our total enrollment.
    • We have provided over 7,000 lessons in the greater Austin area to over 300 underserved children (scholarship value is over $245,000). Scholarship candidates are identified by NSM & its partners.
  • Music education is proven to improve cognitive skills such as math, science, and language — in addition to artistic
    creativity and self-expression. Music inspires us, teaches valuable life lessons, & is so much fun!
    • Refer to childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy for many examples of this.
    • Our NEW SCHOOL JAZZ, Concert & Masterclass Series features our faculty, guests, and advanced students. We
      provide masterclasses & concerts in schools and venues in the greater Austin area — to help in the development of
      exceptional young jazz players. We also produce online jazz masterclass & concert events, in conjunction with Monk’s
      Jazz Club, using Hi-Fi and HD livestreams. Advanced teenage jazz players are coached by our Texas Jazz & Blues Camp
      faculty staff, which includes Don Braden, Andre Hayward, Joe Morales, Peggy Stern, Adrian Ruiz, Tom Brechtlein,
      Utah Hamrick, Red Young, Kaz Kazanoff, Murali Coryell, Ernie Durawa, Chris Alcaraz, Jay Leach & Chris McQueen.
    • We have produced masterclasses with international artists, including Eddie Gomez Trio, Christian McBride, Bill Evans
      (sax), Jamey Aebersold, Emmet Cohen, Fareed Haque, Jewel Brown, Denny Freeman, Mike Flanigan & Chris Layton.
      We have received matching grants for our programs from the City of Austin, Cultural Arts Division, Texas Commission
      of the Arts, and a Google Ad Grant. Additional grants and sponsors are being developed.

Texas Jazz and Blues Camp

  • Texas Jazz & Blues Camp began in 2016, and is an all-embracing program focused on musical and personal growth where our students can learn by hearing the greats on our staff and each other. While the commitment to the music is at the highest level, the program is not competitive. There is no pre-audition required.
  • Our Music Director is jazz sax great, Don Braden, who also directs the Litchfield Jazz Camp & Festival in Connecticut (one of the oldest and largest on the east coast). The camp is hosted on the beautiful campus of Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin. Our day & future residential camp at SSES features world-class performers & instructors, including:
  • Don Braden, world-class jazz educator and saxophonist, is our camp Music Director and has toured extensively with Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Williams, Betty Carter, & Roy Haynes. Don is a Harvard alumnus and is the Director of the Harvard University Jazz Combo Initiative.
  • Andre Hayward is a consummate jazz artist & educator who has performed extensively with The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (directed by Wynton Marsalis), Chick Corea, Jason Moran, Roy Hargrove, & Betty Carter. Andre has served as jazz trombone professor at New England Conservatory, NYU, UNT, & UT.
  • Joe Morales is a leading jazz educator, saxophonist, and recording artist in the Austin area, and has led summer jazz camps for children for over 30 years and has taught privately for over 40 years. Joe, a Grammy artist, founded the Austin Jazz Club over 15 years ago, and serves as the jazz consultant to Eanes & AISD.

Blue Jazz Festival

  • Texas Blue Jazz Festival was founded in 2019 and features local and national jazz & blues artists.
  • Our performers are also top educators in jazz and blues, and previous performers include: Don Braden, Andre Hayward, Jewel Brown, Murali Coryell, Ernie Durawa, Chris Alcaraz, Richard Spencer, Jay Tillman, and others.

Contact info

Richard Spencer, MBA, MME, Executive Director, info@NewSchoolOfMusic.net • 512-535-0208