Gillian Margot is a vocalist, composer, bandleader and producer from Toronto, Canada. Known as a stylist with impeccable range, Margot has a love for song and storytelling that is deeply rooted in the tradition of the great jazz vocalists. She has had the privilege of performing worldwide in jazz, chamber, big band, choral, pop, and folk traditions of music with a long list of top-tier talent including rock icon Sting, famed soprano Kathleen Battle, jazz stars Jeremy Pelt, Chris Botti, Robert Glasper, and Helen Sung. Gillian Margot is on faculty at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Swing University, JazzArtsNY at Fordham University, the Jazz Institute at Brevard Music Center, and on OpenStudioJazz.com. She holds a Double Baccalaureate in Fine Arts magna cum laude in Music & Anthropology from York University in Toronto, and a Master of Music summa cum laude in Jazz from The Juilliard School in New York City.

Geoffrey Keezer is a GRAMMY®-winning pianist, composer, arranger and producer who began his career touring with the legendary Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He has toured and recorded with Ray Brown, Roy Hargrove, Joshua Redman, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Barbara Hendricks, Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, Chris Botti, Sting, Joe Locke and Christian McBride. According to Sting, Keezer “has proved himself to be not only a superb technician and improviser but also, above and beyond this, a composer and conceptualist who can maintain the overall line and the DNA of the song in everything he plays. A musician’s musician.” Geoffrey is on faculty at The Juilliard School, OpenStudioJazz.com, and is a regular guest artist at the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz.

Gillian and Geoffrey generously conduct masterclasses and clinics around the world, which can be tailored to suit, including artist-in-residence-type events.

Half Day Masterclass (3-4 Hours with break). Possible topics below.

• MAKE IT YOURS
Choosing your repertoire, creating original and unique approaches
• STYLISATION
Finding the right key, tempo, and feel
• Supportive Accompaniment
Creating intros and endings, arranging on the spot
• TROUBLESHOOTING
Happy accidents and how to handle the occasional "train wreck"
• HOW TO LEAD A BAND
Communication is key – tried-and-true signals, tools, and behaviour on and off the bandstand
• MUSICIAN LIFE
Stories, lessons, and candid humour from life on the road
• COLLABORATIVE SONGWRITING & COMPOSITION
Working together to bring musical ideas to life and making room for multiple perspectives.

3-Day ‘Artist In Residence’ Programme With Evening Concert (Day 3)

The Artist In Residence programme involves a small selection of music students from the university (usually seniors) working closely with Gillian and Geoffrey to learn songs and arrangements selected from the American Songbook and contemporary jazz catalogues. The residency opportunity allows for students to experience several of Gillian and Geoffrey's masterclass topics in depth while maximizing participation. Members of the teaching faculty can also be involved and a moderated ‘Question and Answer’ with a wider student audience can also be arranged. The programme culminates in a 50-minute live concert performance at the end of the third day in the theatre of the university, also open to the public and featuring the participating students with Gillian and Geoffrey as special guests.