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Participants in the Henry Mancini Institute’s summer program will study commercial aspects

While many students rush to leave UCLA during the summer to return to their homes, a select group of talented musicians from all over the world await their turn to arrive on campus.

These people are the 85 professional musicians chosen to be part of the Henry Mancini Institute’s four-week Summer Education Program and the Free Summer Music Festival, held primarily at UCLA. Concerts will be held at Royce and Schoenberg halls, and are scheduled from July 22 to August 12.

Composer Jack Elliott founded the institute in memory of Henry Mancini in 1997. Mancini was nominated for 72 Grammys and 18 Academy Awards, winning 20 and four respectively, for his work in composing music for film and television. He was also a pianist and concert conductor. Both Elliott and Mancini desired to teach the next generation of musicians the skills necessary to be successful commercial performing artists, resulting in the formation of the institute and its summer programs.

“It’s an important program because it helps to expand stylistic horizons,” said Jeremy Cohen, part of the Jazz Violin faculty at the institute and one of its string coordinators. “It offers a great amount of exposure outside of the traditional conservatory or music program education.”

The highly competitive program requires that its participants, who range in age from 18 to 33 years old, go through a detailed audition process.

“We require high-end classical skills, which calls for high-level auditions,” Cohen said.

Auditions are held on 18 dates in 15 different cities, but the institute also accepts mail-in auditions. If chosen, students receive an opportunity to study and perform with today’s most renowned musicians. They also get the chance to perform works by both experienced composers and Henry Mancini Institute program composers during the Free Summer Music Festival.

“It’s fascinating to see diverse groups of varying ages from all over the world sharing their musical influences with each other,” Cohen said. “Participants have jazz influences, gypsy influences, etc. It’s a bizarre combination that allows the doors to swing wide open.”

Jill Packard is one beneficiary of the institute. In the summer of 2002, Packard’s oboe-playing skills landed her a spot in the program. Since then, she has become the program manager for recruitment and alumni affairs for the institute, as well as a freelance oboe instructor.

“It made me want to move to Los Angeles,” Packard said. “It inspired me to continue to be a professional musician. It showed other options for work, especially for those who were trained with strictly classical backgrounds.”

Like Packard, Rob Schaer is returning to the program, but as a participant. A USC graduate student, Schaer has played the trumpet for 13 years.

“My father is a percussionist – a drummer,” Schaer said. “He taught high school band. I started out playing the drums, but I noticed in the marching band that the drummers were always in the back, while the trumpet players were in the front, doing all the soloing.”

He heard about the program through word of mouth, as well as from posters on the USC campus. Schaer’s first year in the program was in 2005.

“A lot of big studio musicians are involved with the program, (which is) a big reason why I chose to do it over summer festivals,” Schaer said.

However, Schaer believes that the best lesson the Henry Mancini Institute has imparted upon him is the ability to be a versatile musician, making him marketable to the public.

“The musician’s line of work is different,” Schaer said. “Not that many people can make it in the music industry if they only have one style of playing. There is a need for classical musicians, but also the new commercial side. That knowledge is what the Henry Mancini Institute offers its students, over any festival.”