Title
Victor L. Goines, the artistic director of Juilliard’s Jazz Studies program since its founding in 2000, has stepped down from that position to pursue a full-time performing and recording career. The announcement was made late last month by President Joseph W. Polisi, who said that drummer Carl Allen, who was among the original faculty when the program opened its doors, will act as interim director.
Victor Goines leading the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra last April in a program of music by Wynton Marsalis.
(Photo by Hiro Ito)Body
“The Juilliard School owes a debt of gratitude to Victor Goines for his visionary leadership during the first years of jazz at Juilliard,” Mr. Polisi said. “Through his successful work as a performer, teacher, and administrator, he helped shape the standards and the values for which Juilliard Jazz has become known and admired. We wish Victor well in his many professional activities in the time ahead, and look forward to welcoming him back to Juilliard for performances and special events in the future.”
In addition to leading the Jazz Studies program, Mr. Goines taught jazz clarinet and saxophone as a member of the faculty. During his tenure, the department expanded from its original collaborative program with Jazz at Lincoln Center (called the Institute for Jazz Studies) and added bachelor’s and master’s degree programs to its curriculum. Its student musicians perform frequently around New York City and have toured in cities throughout the United States, Central America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Born in 1961 in New Orleans, Mr. Goines began studying clarinet at age 8. He received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Loyola University in 1984 and a Master of Music from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1990. A member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Wynton Marsalis Septet since 1993, he has toured throughout the world and recorded more than 20 releases including Marsalis’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Blood on the Fields (Columbia Records, 1997) and Ken Burns’s acclaimed documentaries, Jazz and Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. He is an acclaimed solo artist and leads his own quartet and quintet. As a leader, Mr. Goines has five recordings including New Adventures (Criss Cross Records, 2006).
Mr. Goines is deeply committed to jazz education. He has been a member of the faculties of Florida A&M University, University of New Orleans, Loyola University in New Orleans, and Xavier University, and has conducted clinics and workshops around the world.
Upon leaving Juilliard, Mr. Goines said in a note to the staff: “Thank you all for making my stay here an incredible experience and for giving me memories that I will treasure forever. It has been a privilege to work with you all.”
