The person in charge of the new course is Inês Laginha, a former student at the conservatory, a piano teacher and Mário Laginha’s daughter. Inês considers the start of the course “absolutely historic” and is not defeated by the lack of conditions.

The jazz room is so small that it forces the old singers to “huddle together” and the instruments can’t be placed properly.

“The room should have double or triple the size”, according to accounts made by the coordinator of the course.

Furthermore, there is a lack of instruments and equipment. One of the pianists plays sitting on a plastic Ikea chair and the other on a wooden chair, which serves as the usual stools. The piano is upright, because the school no longer had grand pianos. The battery in the room was lent by Universidade Lusíada. A metallophone and a grand piano are still to be bought, ​​a school principal, Lilian Kopke, told Lusa.

An upright piano does not have the same sound production as a grand piano and this forces students to “play differently so that the sound sticks” during a jazz class, explained Inês Laginha.

Teaching is hampered, because when students are in piano class they have to play a shape, which changes when they are in combo class and is also different from orchestral class: “If there is a different constant, it cannot stabilize and does not help to solidify what they are learning,” he warned.

The conditions for advancing the course were not the best, but no one wanted to wait any longer.

“The school has immense space limitations”, acknowledged the coordinator of the school’s new professional offer.

Already in temporary facilities, already lacking space to conveniently accommodate the approximately 700 students of the National Conservatory Music School, which in September held the first professional jazz course in Lisbon.

In September 2018, the Escola de Música moved from the emblematic building in Bairro Alto to provisional facilities at Escola Secundária Marques de Pombal.

The idea would be to stay for just 18 months, while the requalification of the mansion was taking place, but now the four year away from home is starting and the works will only start this month, according to information provided to Lusa by Parque Escolar.

“If we were to postpone the opening of the course until the works were ready, it would never start. We cannot change our educational project and the level of education due to some works that were going to last 18 months but have not even appeared yet. We cannot stand still. I don’t know how old,” explained Lilian Kopke.

The direction allowed permission to the services of the Ministry of Education to open the new professional course and “was authorized”.

The problem, says Lilian Kopke, is that the request in the request explained that more rooms with acoustic treatment and more musical instruments would be needed. “Nobody told us no, we opened the course and now we have nothing. I mean, we do, but it was because we went to get it”, he said.

During the month of August, school employees soundproofed what is now the Jazz room with materials purchased from a building supply store.

“The room is very small but we opened the course. Despite everything, it will definitely be the best course there is, because we have excellent teachers,” said Lilian Kopke.

The idea of ​​opening the course came from demand and there is no medium course in Jazz in Lisbon. Nearby, the Universidade Lusíada offers a degree in Jazz.

The 15 vacancies open for the professional course offered by the school were quickly filled, said Lilian Kopke.

From the work of those born were born agreements with Universidade Lusíada and Casa Bernardo Sasseti. “This was a unique opportunity, because with these procedures they were able to ensure the training of these students in a work context”, explained Lilian Kopke.

For Inês Laginha, it doesn’t make sense that “the most important school of classical music education in Portugal and music in general” does not yet have this offer.

Throughout the history of the School of Music of the National Conservatory there have been occasional Jazz courses, but never a course, “let alone a professional course”, recorded by the coordinator of the new offer.

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