Jazz and Improvisation

We balance the development of technical skills with creativity and encourage the development of personal voice through contemporary performance practice and original compositions. Our students embrace a diversity of music genres including; world music, popular music, folk music, experimental music, electronica, crossover media, acapella and multimedia.

Study Jazz and Improvisation at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

Our students participate in a range of concerts, events and interactive projects, reflecting our commitment to music making in a broad range of musical styles and media.

Our Interactive Composition and Jazz and Improvisation students collaborate with each other and also with other students across the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music to develop arts projects in a variety of mediums and styles, while students from across the University can participate in our range of breadth programs.

Find Jazz and Improvisation breadth courses

Jazz and Improvisation courses

Our people

The course was five days a week, with a performance-based/practical subject pretty much every day, which was great. I would practise every day, and would rehearse with both small and large ensembles at least three days a week too. We also had great theory-based classes and so each day would bring a variety of different material to work on and practise, all relevant and related to each other.

Alex Czarnecki-Roper
Bachelor of Music, specialisation in Jazz & Improvisation

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News

Student Q&Arts - Abi Lee

20 April 2023
Abi Lee is currently in her second year of the Bachelor of Music, specialising in Jazz and Improvisation, at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music....

Diploma in Music and Bachelor of Science student Thien Pham wins $10,000 James Morrison Jazz Scholarship

27 July 2022
Diploma in Music student Thien Pham was announced the 33rd winner of the $10,000 James Morrison Jazz Scholarship for solo instrumentalists under 19 on 8 May. The announcement...

Bells Make Me Sing: re-recording a Brian Brown classic to celebrate 40 years of Jazz and Improvisation

31 May 2021
In April this year, 13 students and staff from the Jazz and Improvisation course at the University of Melbourne came together to perform a new version of a very special track....

Conservatorium Events

  • The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Stravinsky’s Petrushka

    Sunday 23 August 2026 5:00pm - 6:30pm
    Drama, passion and spectacle take centre stage in the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s third concert of 2026. The evening opens with Richard Strauss’s exhilarating Don Juan, an orchestral tour de force that sweeps audiences into the legendary hero’s...
  • Melba Hall 12: Horn Ensemble

    Monday 24 August 2026 1:10pm - 2:00pm
    The much-loved Melba Hall Lunch Hour Concert Series returns for Semester 2 2026. Each week will feature a different instrument or area, performed by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and facilitated by academic staff. Join us for an intimate ...
  • Australian Wind Quintet perform Gounod, Klughardt and Coleman

    Tuesday 25 August 2026 7:30pm - 8:40pm
    Celebrate an exciting moment in Melbourne’s musical community with the Australian Wind Quintet in a vibrant concert marking the commencement of new flute lecturer Catherine Gregory at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. The program features Gounod’s charming Petite Symphonie, performed alo...