Studio Music & Jazz
Finding his sound and his place
Drummer Brenten Handfield discovered jazz at the Frost School, and has soared with the mentorship of professor and award-winning jazz musician Etienne Charles, who has included Handfield in his Creole Soul ensemble.
Accolades for music’s ‘invisible artists’
Students and alumni of the Frost School’s Studio Jazz Writing Program were honored for their achievements as composers and in the crucial but little-known field of arranging.
Showcasing the powerful intersection of dance and music
Frost School jazz artist Etienne Charles has organized a concert with Miami’s Peter London Global Dance Company, showcasing their collaboration in a vital blend of Afro-Caribbean and contemporary culture that highlights the importance of artistic mentorship.
Frost School artists in 2025 Downbeat Critics Poll
Multiple Frost School alumni, faculty, and former faculty members appeared in the jazz world’s most prestigious list.
Major awards for 2 generations of Frost School jazz singers
The success of jazz vocalists Carmen Lundy and Kate Kortum, who graduated decades apart, showcases the enduring potency of the Frost School’s pioneering jazz vocal program.
Celebrating the transformative jazz of Miles Davis
Frost School jazz artists played a riveting concert commemorating the 100th birthday of jazz genius Miles Davis to open the Jazz Roots series at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami.
A jazz educator for the ages
The Frost School of Music’s Dean Shelton G. Berg has been inducted into Downbeat magazine’s Jazz Education Hall of Fame, one of the jazz world’s greatest honors for music educators.
A change-making performance on a world stage
The Frost School of Music debuted at New York’s Lincoln Center, with the Frost Symphony Orchestra playing professor Etienne Charles’ powerful jazz-orchestral work “San Juan Hill: A New York Story” under the baton of famed musical director Gerard Schwarz.
Frost School summer programs expand musical boundaries
Frost School faculty members offer a groundbreaking Afro-Caribbean music program at an Aspen jazz academy and inspiring masterclasses at California’s Festival Napa Valley.
A Frost School jazz legend connects with a new generation
Famed jazz musician Pat Metheny, an iconic Frost School alumnus, mesmerized students and faculty during a rare masterclass.
Frost School jazz students honored
Downbeat, the jazz world’s leading publication, named multiple Frost School students and ensembles in their prestigious annual Student Music Awards.
Bringing his music back home
Multi-talented musician Justin Kinchen took the extraordinary skills he’s developed at the Frost School to a concert in his hometown of Indianapolis that showcased his original jazz and classical compositions and paid tribute to his childhood mentors.
Playing it forward with New York Voices
Famed jazz vocal quartet New York Voices’ visit to the Frost School of Music showed how they’ve transformed and inspired generations of jazz singers.
Learning live and onstage
Famed jazz-fusion group Snarky Puppy gave the Frost School’s Jazz Sextet a masterclass in front of a live audience at the GroundUP festival this weekend.
Frost School professor Etienne Charles receives major Caribbean award
The Trinidadian-American jazz composer, trumpeter, and bandleader just capped a string of achievements, including a long-sought album release and multiple honors, by winning an Anthony N Sabga Award, which comes with a substantial cash prize.
