Jazz Studies
Thanks for your interest in our Maymester Study Abroad in Italy!
Below please find information and your invitation to be a part of our Program,
designed for those seeking to improve their improvisation skills and/or interested
in entrepreneurial music/entertainment industry careers. We are based in the
beautiful Piemonte region of northern Italy.
I have worked in music both on the artistic and business sides of the industry and
was privileged to share my experience with students on the UGA campus
as Director of the Jazz Studies Program (1992-2012), then as co-founder and
Academic Director of the Music Business Program.
In 2009, I was asked by Dr. Masciadri to create a Maymester Program to serve
improvising musicians, and the vision from the start was to provide the most
focused opportunity possible for each musician to grow and develop their unique
artistry. Please feel free to share this information with other students either here at
UGA or at other colleges or universities. Enrollment is open to all, regardless of institution.
Our 2020 Program continues to be designed specifically to meet the needs of each
individual, and the advances made by students participating in previous Programs
has been substantial. You may explore letters from former students posted here to help you know what to expect. Areas of concentrated study in Italy include improvisation on any instrument,
small group performance skills, pop & jazz piano/theory, film scoring,
songwriting, desktop production using Logic, and music business topics including
publishing, A&R, marketing, management, record label operations and
entrepreneurship/success principles.
I bring my working industry knowledge to enable each individual student to move
forward quickly, drawing on experiences performing/conducting, in record label
operations and the composing background gained from many years of work for
National Geographic, Discovery, CBS, two successive Super Bowl broadcasts and
many other media outlets.
The 2020 Maymester Program delivers the incredibly rich cultural environment of
Italy plus three weeks of private lessons, master classes and tailored study,
providing the creative student the opportunity to focus on their career goals and
allowing them to jump start their entry into the entertainment industry.
Please explore the supporting materials, and when you have further questions
please contact me and/or Dr. Milton Masciadri, Director of International Programs
for the Hodgson School of Music: <mmasciad@uga.edu>
The Jazz Study Abroad is unique and one of the highlights of the International
Programs offered at UGA. I hope you can join us!
Best wishes,
Steve Dancz
Steve Dancz
Steve Dancz began his professional career at the age of fifteen, began touring at seventeen and by his twenty-first birthday was performing extensively in Europe, the Soviet Union, Japan, The People's Republic of China, Africa and South America. From the beginning of his career, he has worked on both the creative and business sides of the entertainment industry. His international career began as a musical director for Royal Viking Line, a position that included performance, arranging, conducting, managing personnel and consulting work on creative and management issues. Dancz has performed and/or recorded with many artists including The Chieftains, Eddie Harris, Martin Taylor, Joe Lovano, Kevin Mahogany, Dizzy Gillespie, Rufus Reid, John Patitucci and Clark Terry.
Dancz worked as a record producer and A&R director during his early years based in Los Angeles. He produced and performed on sessions in LA and London, promoted his artist roster to Radio France in Paris and coordinated record label operations with EMI, the company's European distributor. As A&R Director, he handled selection and coordination of new material, developed a stable of in-house writers and producers and negotiated publishing deals for new album releases.
Following studies in film scoring with master composer Earl Hagen (“Andy of Mayberry,” “I Spy,” “Mod Squad”), Dancz created original music for film studios and broadcast media outlets including Columbia Pictures, CBS, HBO, Paramount Pictures, TBS, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Discovery Networks, PBS, NPR and the Super Bowl. He has composed and conducted orchestral scores for television ("Designing Women") and motion pictures ("Grim Prairie Tales" starring James Earl Jones), and has composed for multiple national campaigns for JWT and Chiat|Day LA.
Dancz composed and produced numerous original scores for National Geographic Films, many of which have aired as Specials and internationally as part of the National Geographic "Explorer" television series. His work with The Geographic resulted in the PBS Special “Inside Mecca," a project nominated by the Society for Emmy consideration for its original score. A variety of projects including “The Raising of the Hunley," "The Filmmakers," "Africa's Dinosaur Giants" and "Great White Deep Trouble" are available on DVD from the National Geographic Society. He created the music for the BBC film "Superswarms" for U.S. broadcast and his score and on-screen performance for "SACRED SITES OF THE DALAI LAMAS" is currently being viewed around the world. Dancz speaks at colleges and universities in conjunction with screenings of the film, discussing his pilgrimage to Tibet, the filmmaking and post-production process, and the art and craft of film scoring.
His most visible commissions include creating original scores for the two “Tribute to the Declaration of Independence” films, seen internationally as part of Super Bowl XLV & XLVIII broadcasts, the latter viewed worldwide by a record-setting 165 million viewers, then the world's largest TV viewing audience. The resulting “Declarations” for narrator and wind ensemble is available for concert performance. Dancz was awarded the Hollywood Music in Media Award and two Silver Telly awards and his music is currently licensed for use in media around the world.
He is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts grant and as pianist and conductor has performed throughout the world, including the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), the Vienne Jazz Festival (France), The Brussels Conservatory of Music (Belgium), Tocar la Vida (Argentina), and the first World Festival of Sacred Music (India) at the request of His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama.
Mr. Dancz spent two decades as director of the Jazz Studies Program at the University of Georgia's Hodgson School of Music and co-founded UGA’s interdisciplinary Music Business Program with the Terry College of Business. He is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and served two terms on the Board of Governors of the Atlanta Chapter. He currently directs UGA’s Jazz Study Abroad Program, an individualized course of study for the contemporary musician based in Alessandria, Italy and is a Visiting Guest Artist at Kennesaw State University where his courses include Music Entrepreneurship & Scoring for Media.
At conferences, seminars and master classes, Dancz speaks on topics including the creative process, artist entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial mindset, distance learning, creating music for film, TV and games and the development of improvisation skills for all musicians.
For more information visit < SteveDancz.com >