Jason Smyth-Tomkins
GradDipMusSt (QCM), BJazzStudies (CQCM)
Lecturer in Jazz and Contemporary Music
School of Education and the Arts
- j.smyth-tomkins@cqu.edu.au
- (07) 4940 7863
- 0402829546 Mobile Phone
-
Mackay Ooralea
Building 22 - Room G.10
CQCM, Ooralea
About Me
Jason Smyth-Tomkins joined the faculty of Education and the Arts at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music (CQUniversity) in July 2010. Prior to this appointment, Jason spent 10 years as a percussion specialist and multi-instrument teacher at Education Queensland in the Central Queensland region. During his appointment at Education Queesnland, Jason developed extensive and successful high school percussion and big band programs, evidenced by numerous regional and state awards and past students who transitioned successfully to tertiary music study.
Also a Yamaha Australia Artist since 2011, Jason is a lecturer in the
Bachelor of Music (Jazz and Popular) program at the CQCM, specialising in jazz and contemporary drum-set performance. In addition to this, Jason is responsible for the coordination of the Performance & Production Studies (ensemble) courses and the associated public performances as well as the Jazz History courses at CQCM.
Since 2012, on behalf of CQCM, Jason has been the Artistic Director of the CQUniversity Schools' Jazz Festival, attracting participants from Bowen to Brisbane for intensive and inspiring musical experiences through jazz education and performances. The CQUSJF has been instrumental in raising the profile of jazz education in the Central Queensland and Mackay / Whitsunday regions, supported by Queensland Music Festival, Creative Capricorn and various high profile guest artists.
Jason is an experienced and versatile drummer / percussionist having performed in jazz ensembles, big bands, corporate commercial bands, orchestras and pit orchestras. Jason has performed with a variety of respected jazz artists including: Don Rader (USA/Sydney), Don Burrows, Rick Holland (USA), Richie Cole (USA), Kevin Hunt, Clive Moorehead, Kristin Berardi, Graham Jesse, Katie Noonan, James Sherlock, Nicky Bomba, The Idea of North, Mike Price, Jacki Cooper, James Morrison, Bob Coassin (USA/Sydney), Jeff Jarvis (USA) and Dan Barnett plus many more.
General
Universities Studied At
Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Mackay Ooralea Campus
CQUniversity, Australia
Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Southbank Campus
Griffith University
Universities Worked At
Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Rockhampton North Campus
CQUniversity, Australia
Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Mackay Ooralea Campus
CQUniversity, Australia
Awards
2015 Vice Chancellors' Award for Outstanding Contributions to Learning and Teaching (Tier 2)
CQUniversity, Australia
2015 Vice Chancellors' Award for Good Practice in Learning and Teaching (Tier 1)
CQUniversity, Australia
2014 CQUniversity Student Voice Awards - Commendation for On-campus Educator of the Year
CQUniversity, Australia
2013 CQUniversity OPAL Award for Engaged Service
CQUniversity Schools' Jazz Festival, Rockhampton
Presented by CQCM, Yamaha Music Australia, Queensland Music Festival and Creative Capricorn
2008 Australia Day Senior Cultural Award Recipient
Rockhampton Regional Council
Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music
CQUniversity, Australia
Media Citations
- 'Friday Jazz Series kicks off for 2015'
- 'Jazz brings wow factor to Fridays'
- 'Jazz vocalist Hayley Cox returns to Mackay this Friday'
- 'Music lovers get chance to support victims of earthquakes in Nepal'
- 'CQUni Band jazzed to play with a legend'
- 'Jazz vocalist returns to Mackay for Uni concert'
- 'CQUni Schools' Jazz Festival back in Rocky and Mackay'
- 'Music festival to start Friday'
- 'Winter is coming - jazz students migrate north to Cairns'
- 'CQUniversity Schools' Jazz Festival'
- 'CQUniversity Schools' Jazz Festival comes to Rockhampton'
2014
- 'Indigenous musicians pop in to join cream of Mackay’s talent'
- 'Jazz musicians ‘on Quay’ in Mackay'
- 'Australian jazz royalty herald a musical weekend in Mackay'
- 'Big Sounds in Mackay'
- 'Jazz lovers have Friday on their mind'
- 'The Big Night in returns to Mackay'
- 'Top jazz vocalist and trombonist in Mackay as Con swings into August'
- 'All welcome at Friday Jazz @the Con'
- 'Mackay Con making a song and dance about turning 25'
- 'Celebrating 'Divas of Jazz' in Mackay'
- 'Jazz lovers in for dual feast'
2013
- 'California State University, Long Beach - Jason Smyth-Tomkins, Visiting Jazz Expert'
- 'University of Texas at Brownsville - Faculty News'
- 'UTB Patron of the Arts presents Faculty Percussion Recital'
- 'Singing the praises of Schools' Jazz Festival'
- 'CQUniversity Gladstone Campus 35th Anniversary celebrations'
- 'Banana Velvet and Master Keys primed for concerts'
- 'School musicians can tap into campus program'
- 'Teens can ‘jam’ in extra musical experience'
- 'Musical Natalies share journey from Tablelands to Rocky'
- 'Public welcome as James Morrison ‘swing’ through Rocky'
- '24 hours to salsa'
- 'James Morrison on the way to Rocky to help school students swing into action'
- 'Nikki shines on stage while composing herself for the future'
2012
- ‘From Malaysia to Australia’
- ‘All welcome at Jazzmania concert in Rockhampton’
- ‘Live music thrives thanks to CQUni and TAFE initiative'
2011
Previous teaching
Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Lecturer in Jazz and Contemporary Music (2014 - )
Mackay Ooralea Campus, QLD
Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Lecturer in Jazz and Contemporary Music (2010 - 2013)
Rockhampton North Campus, QLD
Education Queensland - Itinerant Instrumental Music Teacher
Percussion Specialist, Multi Instrument Teacher, Program Coordinator & Musical Director (2001 - 2010)
Yeppoon SHS, North Rockhampton SHS, Rockhampton SHS, Glenmore SHS, Yeppoon SS, Taranganba SS, Farnborough SS, Frenchville SS, Mt Archer SS, Berserker SS, Glenmore SS, Crescent Lagoon SS, Allenstown SS, Berserker SS.
Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Conservatorium Academy Ensemble Director (2001)
Rockhampton City Campus, QLD
Mackay Christian College
Percussion Instructor (1999 - 2000)
Mackay, QLD
Professional Experience
This list represents perfomances and events in which I have acted as a performer, ensemble director, course coordinator, artistic director or producer on behalf of the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music at CQUniversity. In addition to this, I have extensive experience in external professional performance and education.
2015
October
09 - 10 Big Night In Concert Series, CQCM Mackay, guest artists - 1st Band Royal Australian Regiment (Townsville)
September
03 5th Floor Jams, CQUni City Campus
24 5th Floor Jams, CQUni City Campus
25 Friday Jazz @ the Con, CQCM Mackay - guest artist - Jacki Cooper
August
01 & 02 CQUniversity Schools' Jazz Festival, Mackay - Guest Clinician / Performer - Dan Barnett
13 - 16 Musical: CITY OF ANGELS, CQCM Mackay
21 - 23 Bachelor of Music Clinic Tour to the Village Festival, Yeppoon - guest artist Dan Barnett
July
10 1st Anniversary CQUni Merger Celebrations, CQUni Mackay
11 Artspace Mackay Exhibition Opening, Mackay
12 Mackay Festival of the Arts Jazz Brunch, Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre - guest artist Hayley Cox
24 & 25 CQUniversity Schools' Jazz Festival, Rockhampton - Guest Clinician / Performer - Dan Barnett
30 5th Floor Jams, CQUni City Campus
31 Friday
Jazz @the Con, CQCM Mackay - guest artist Dan Barnett
June
01 - 05 Bachelor of Music Clinic Tour, Cairns & Atherton
03 & 04 Jazz at Bernie's Jazz Cafe, Cairns - guest artist Mike Price
May
01 - 03 Musical: GUYS & DOLLS, CQCM Mackay
07 5th Floor Jams, CQUni City Campus
15 Friday
Jazz @the Con, CQCM Mackay - guest artist Hayley Cox
20 Judith, Stuart & Friends, CQCM Mackay
28 5th Floor Jams, CQUni City Campus
April
16 5th Floor Jams, CQUni City Campus - guest artist Nathaniel Andrew
17 Friday
Jazz @the Con, CQCM Mackay - guest artist Nathaniel Andrew
30 Musical: GUYS & DOLLS, CQCM Mackay
March
27 Friday
Jazz @the Con, CQCM Mackay, CQCM Mackay - guest artist Jacki Cooper
2014
September
13 CQCM 25th Anniversary Gala Concert, CQCM Mackay - guest artists, Sophie Phillis, Hayley Cox & Kerry Armstrong
19 Friday Jazz @the Con, CQCM Mackay - guest artist, Jacki Cooper
27 Big
Night In / Still Swingin’, CQCM Mackay - guest artist, Mike Price
August
31-03 Musical:
CHICAGO, CQCM Mackay
09 Big
Night In / Still Swingin’, CQCM Mackay - guest artist, Dan Barnett
10 Jazz
on the Quay, CQCM Mackay
12-16 Far
North Queensland Outreach Tour, Cairns & Atherton
23 Village Festival, Yeppoon - with headliner, Nicky Bomba in the Nicky Bomba All Stars
July
01 CQUniversity
/ CQTAFE Amalgamation Launch, CQCM Mackay
11 Friday
Jazz @the Con, CQCM Mackay, CQCM Mackay
18 Friday
Jazz @the Con, CQCM Mackay, CQCM Mackay - guest artists, John Morrison & Jacki Cooper
19-20 & 26-27 CQUniversity Schools' Jazz Festival, Rockhampton & Mackay - Guest Clinicians / Performers - Jeremy Borthwick & John Morrison
May
10 Platinum
Blonde: Chloe Dallimore in Concert, CQCM Mackay
23 ABC
Tropical North, Radio Interview and Performance, Mackay - CQCM & ACPA staff and students
23 Big
Night In / Still Swingin’, CQCM Mackay - guest artists, Onyx Reign from the Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts
25 Jazz on the Quay, Mackay - guest artists, Onyx Reign from the Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts
30 Friday
Jazz @the Con, CQCM Mackay
April
05 ABC
Tropical North, Radio Interview and Performance, Mackay
05 Big
Night In / Still Swingin’, CQCM Mackay - guest artist, Nathaniel Andrew
11 Friday
Jazz @the Con, CQCM Mackay
March
14 Friday
Jazz @the Con, CQCM Mackay
18-21 Far North Queensland Outreach Tour, Cairns, Atherton & Innisfail
27-30 Musical:
The Sentimental Bloke, CQCM Mackay
February
28 Friday
Jazz @the Con, CQCM Mackay
2013
September
14 Curragh
Mining 30th Anniversary, Blackwater
19 Jazz at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
21 Capricorn Food and Wine Festival, Mecure Resort Yeppoon
21-23 CQUniversity
Jammin’ Program, Rockhampton
26 Rockin’ Out at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
27 Big
Night In, Rockhampton - guest artists Nathaniel Andrew & Hayley Cox
28 Big Night In, Gladstone - guest artists Nathaniel Andrew & Hayley Cox
August
01 Rockin’ Out at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
02 Big Night In, Rockhampton
03 Rump and Red Gala (Brisbane to Rosslyn Bay Yacht Race), Yeppoon
16-18 Village
Festival, Yeppoon - with headline artists, The Idea of North
22 Arts Queensland Awards Evening, Yeppoon
July
20-21 CQUniversity Schools' Jazz Festival, Rockhampton - Guest Clinicians / Performers - Jeff Jarvis, Bob Coassin & James Morrison (on behalf of QMF)
25 Jazz at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
May
16 Jazz at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
23 Rockin’ Out at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
24 Big Night In, Rockhampton
April
11 Rockin’Out at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
12 Big Night In, Rockhampton
March
28 Jazz at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
January
International
Presentations / Performance
Jazz drum set master-class, University of Texas at
Brownsville, TX
Private jazz drum-set Instruction, University of Texas at Brownsville, TX
Introduction to Jazz History, University of Texas at
Brownsville, TX
History of Jazz in Australia, University of Texas at Brownsville, TX
2012
October
19 Big Night In, Yeppoon - guest artists, Nathaniel Andrew (bass) & Viv Middleton (piano)
20 Big Night In, Gladstone - guest artist, Kristin Berardi (voice)
September
11 Conservatorium Academy Performs: Jazz & Popular, Rockhampton
13 Jazz at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
13-14 Lunchtime Concert Series, Rockhampton
14 Cubanissimo,
Rockhampton - guest artist, Gustavo Cereijo (percussion)
22-24 CQUniversity’s Jammin’ Program, Rockhampton
August
02 Jazz at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
02-03 Lunchtime
Concert Series, Rockhampton
03 Rader of the Lost Art, Rockhampton - guest artist, Don Rader (trumpet / flugalhorn)
17-19 Village Festival, Yeppoon - with headline artist, Katie Noonan (voice)
July
21-22 Mackay
Festival of the Arts
28-29 CQUniversity Schools' Jazz Festival, Rockhampton - Guest Clinicians / Performers - Jeff Jarvis (trumpet) & John Morrison (drums)
May
24 Jazz at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
24-25 Lunchtime Concert Series, Rockhampton
25 Jazzmania,
Rockhampton - guest artist, Glen Hodges (guitar)
March
29 Jazz at the Frenchville, Rockhampton
29-30 Lunchtime Concert Series, Rockhampton
30 Kanga-grooves,
Rockhampton - guest artist, Kerry Armstrong (voice)
2011
October
21-22 Big Night In Concert, Mackay
September
01- 05 CQUniversity Jammin’ Program, Far North Queensland Area
06 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
13-15 Lunchtime Concert Series, Rockhampton
17-19 CQUniversity Jammin’ Program, Central Queensland Area
August
02-04 Lunchtime Concert Series, Rockhampton
05 Big
Night In Concert, Rockhampton - guest artist, Graham Jesse (saxophone)
14 Bridge to Botanic Performance, Gladstone
19-20 Village Festival, Yeppoon - guest artists, Gustavo Cereijo (congas / vocals) & Shane Hannan (trombone)
23 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
July
07 Jazz
at the Glenmore, Rockhampton
11 Lunchtime
Concert with 1RAR Band and US 7th Fleet Band, Rockhampton
11 Concert with 1RAR and US 7th Fleet Band, Mount Morgan
12 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
22-23 Mackay Festival of the Arts
26 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
29 Jazz at the Glenmore, Rockhampton
June
23 CQU Senior Leadership Conference, Mackay
May
03 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
17 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
20 Jazz at the Glenmore, Rockhampton
21 Relay for Life Performances, Rockhampton
24-26 Lunchtime Concert Series, Rockhampton
26 CQU Gladstone Graduation
29 Gladstone Marina Sunday Sessions
April
01 Big Night In, Rockhampton
19 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
29-31 Lunchtime Concert Series, Rockhampton
March
08 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
22 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
25 Jazz at the Glenmore, Rockhampton
2010
November
International
Performance / Clinics
Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah
University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia
University of Texas at Brownsville,Texas
University of Louisville, Kentucky
October
08 Queensland Government Regional Business Awards, Rockhampton
22-23 Big Night In Concert, Mackay
September
04 Jazz
on Quay Festival, Rockhampton - guest artists Viv Middleton (piano), Irene Bartlett (voice) & Shane Hannan (trombone)
10 Jazz at the Leichardt, Rockhampton
14 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
15-16 Lunchtime Concert Series, Rockhampton
17-18 Village Festival, Yeppoon
18-20 CQUniversity Jammin’ Program, Central Queensland Area
21-24 CQUniversity Jammin’ Program, Mackay / Whitsunday Area
August
03 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
09-16 CQUniversity’s Jammin’ Program, Far North Queensland Area
17 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
31 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
July
20 ABC Capricornia, radio interview and live performance
May
30 ABC
Capricornia / CQUniversity - Riverside Jazz Concert - guest artist, Graham Jesse (saxophone)
April
23 BMusic
Concert, Rockhampton - guest artist Maria Ruffino (voice)
February
12 Queensland Health Awards, Rockhampton
Professional Memberships
Current member of the Jazz Educators Network
Past member of the International Association for Jazz Education
Responsibilities
Course coordinator and lead lecturer for Performance and Production Studies and History of Jazz
Lecturer in jazz and popular music: Drums/Percussion and Rhythm Studies
Producer/coordinator of CQCM jazz and popular music performance events
Artistic Director of CQUniversity Schools' Jazz Festival
Consultancy Work
Jan 2013
University of Texas at Brownsville, Artist in Residence
Brownsville, Texas, USA
Individual jazz drum-set instruction, jazz history lectures, jazz drum-set masterclass, jazz ensemble rehearsals & guest artist recital
July 2012
Winter Music School, presented by Southern Cross Soloists
Rockhampton, QLD, AUS
Group percussion masterclasses, individual percussion instruction & jazz ensemble rehearsals