Jazz Workshop, Inc. and Let My Children Hear Music (The Charles Mingus Institute) are pleased to offer exciting internship opportunities for New York area students wishing to learn more about the music of Charles Mingus and fields of publishing, education, promotion, and performance. While interns are often musicians, that is not a requirement
The ideal candidate wants hands-on experience in various arenas of arts management:
supporting publishing efforts of Mingus sheet music and arrangements
supporting day-to-day activities relevant to producing and marketing live music events, such as maintaining and updating the music library which consists of hundreds of arrangements of the music of Charles Mingus, currently performed by the Mingus Big Band, Mingus Orchestra, and Mingus Dynasty throughout the world and each week in New York City, assisting with social media and other promotion
supporting a range of activities for the Annual Mingus High School Competition and Festival held in Februrary
archiving and organizing historical documents
assisting on new media and record releases
assisting on grant writing and development in the nonprofit arena
Interns should be able to read music and work with Finale and other software for Mac. The minimum hours are eight per week, to be scheduled between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Interns can also attend weekly performances and assist staff with band management and merchandise sales to audience.
To apply, please email your resume or bio to education@charlesmingus.com and include the word "Internship" in the subject line. Please contact your school for their requirements for school credit; we'll gladly provide whatever documentation is needed.
Charles Mingus is one of the most important figures in 20th Century American music. His life was filled with music from the time he was six years old until he died at the age of 56 in 1979. He was a virtuoso performer, composer, bandleader, author, and music teacher. Mingus recorded over 100 jazz albums and changed the way jazz was played by inventing new formats and styles of playing bass. In his compositions, Mingus mixed sounds and rhythms from all the music he heard around him as he grew up: Latin, Mexican folk music, gospel, traditional jazz, European classical music, bebop, and Flamenco. Considered one of the most important jazz composers of his day, his entire body of over 300 music scores and suites are held in the U.S. Library of Congress. In addition to this recognition, Mingus music has influenced popular music, from hip hop, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll. Pop culture icons such as Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, and Chuck D have explored Mingus's music, and Mingus music is frequently heard in major motion pictures, television shows, and commercials worldwide.
The Mingus Bands which tour and record under the aegis of the Jazz Workshop, the company started by Charles Mingus and continued by his wife, Sue Mingus, include the Mingus Dynasty, the first of the three repertory bands that formed after Mingus's death in 1979; the Mingus Big Band, which has held a weekly residency in NYC for two decades, and the Mingus Orchestra, which features more exotic instrumentation, such as bassoon, bass clarinet, guitar and French horn.
"We have been very lucky to have regular forums for the music, which allow us to develop audiences for the music and to expand the listenership for Mingus's compositions," says Sue Mingus. "We hope this will continue, and that our concerts, tours, and clinics will help to develop new generations of Mingus listeners and performers."
LET MY CHILDREN HEAR MUSIC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created in 1986 to promote the compositional legacy of musician and composer Charles Mingus though publishing, education, archival preservation, and performance.