SMF Jazz Academy People
Benje Daneman, SMF Jazz Academy Music Director
Jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator, Benje Daneman, got his start professionally in 2007 on a national tour with The Doc Severinsen Big Band and has since performed as a sideman and leader at prestigious venues across the nation including The Kennedy Center (Washington DC), The Iridium Jazz Club (NYC), Constellation (Chicago), Festival of New Trumpet Music, and Baryshnikov Arts Center (NYC). His most recent 2018 album release, “Light in the Darkness”, with his Chicago-based band, SearchParty, received featured articles in both DownBeat Magazine and JazzTimes.
An alumnus of Manhattan School of Music, Western Michigan University and The Henry Mancini Institute (Los Angeles, CA), Daneman is also a passionate music educator and has worked as a teaching artist with The New York Pops, Western Michigan University’s SEMINAR, and Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance (NYC), in addition to giving clinics for all levels of education across the country. He has co-founded and directed multiple educational programs including The Jazz & Creative Institute, Kalamazoo Youth Jazz Orchestra, Kalamazoo Trumpet Workshop, JazzStart Summer Jazz Workshop, and Kalamazoo Music School. An avid composer and arranger, Daneman has received commissions from the United States Air Force Band (in Europe), Spark and Echo Arts (2015 Artist/Composer in Residence) and Redeemer Presbyterian Church (NYC). He has also collaborated with many composers/arrangers including Roger Treece, Peter Prochnow and Dr. Steve Zegree.
In addition to his music and teaching, Daneman works as an arts administrator creating opportunity and managing creative endeavors all across the nation. He has worked with The Festival of New Trumpet Music, jazz pianist Pascal Le Boeuf, Dave Douglas’ Greenleaf Music Record Label, and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, Daneman was the Co-Founder/Executive Director of the Jazz & Creative Institute/Kalamazoo Music School, a community jazz and music school in Kalamazoo, MI. Most recently, he has accepted the position of Music Director of the Savannah Music Festival Jazz Academy in Savannah, GA, where he currently lives with his family.
Questions? Email benje@savannahmusicfestival.
Marisa Webster, Assistant SMFJA Music Director, trumpet,
Marisa Webster, Temple University MFA Jazz Trumpet performance candidate, poses with her instrument for portraits in North Philadelphia, April 1, 2021.
Marisa Webster, a native of Orange Park, Florida, a suburb outside of Jacksonville, is a trumpeter, composer, arranger, entrepreneur, and music educator. Ever since beginning the trumpet in the seventh grade, music has been a passion in her life. She is a graduate of the prestigious Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, as well as a graduate of Florida State University. And Marisa recently graduated from Temple University where she received her master’s degree in Jazz Performance, studying under the acclaimed trumpeter, Terell Stafford.
In 2018 Marisa joined the Mica Bethea Big Band, a phenomenal group based in Jacksonville, Fl. Along with that, she has had the great opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall, the Savannah Heritage “Future of Jazz” Festival, the Lavilla Jazz Festival, The Northeast Florida Jazz Society reception, the Midwest Clinic, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, and the Detroit Jazz Festival.
Marisa is an alumnus of The 2019 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program. An international jazz residency that features performances and compositions by the next generation of jazz greats. The performances take place at the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center. Marisa has also participated in the Woodshed Network. An organization founded by Dee Dee and Tulani Bridgewater, created to educate and empower women in jazz on the ins and outs of the music business.
Marisa has had the opportunity to perform and study with various artists, including Teddy Adams, John Lumpkin, Marcus Printup, Mica Bethea, Alphonso Horne, Marcus Roberts, Ron Blake, Victor Provost, Ulysses Owens Jr., Dion Parson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Peter Martin, Jason Moran, Greg Hutchinson, Rodney Jordan, Leon Anderson, Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield, and Jason Hainsworth.
Aubrie Racies, Community Impact Associate and SMFJA Program Assistant
Aubrie graduated in 2023 with a degree in Audio Production and Recording Technologies from Daytona State College in Daytona Beach, FL.
She has spent the last decade working with students, non-profits, camps and schools. Building up a community of college-age mentors was her main focus from 2018-2023 working as the Volusia County Wyldlife Coordinator with the nonprofit Younglife. Aubrie plays piano, loves to sing, and is learning guitar.
Talk shop about audio equipment, DAWs, and live music with her here! Email aubrie@savannahmusicfestival.
Brass & Reed
Jordan Van Hemert, saxophone
DR. JORDAN VANHEMERT is a Georgia-based saxophonist and composer lauded for his skill as a modern jazz improviser. Critics recognize VanHemert’s music as being profoundly relevant; noted jazz journalist and historian Scott Yanow recently praised VanHemert’s debut release as
“quite impressive,” stating that his piece “Autumn Song” “could eventually become a standard.” Additionally, critics recognize VanHemert’s album I AM NOT A VIRUS AS “full of generous emotions.” (Sonograma Barcelona) and the “beautiful harmonious, melodious base” of his compositions, calling them “Sophisticated but quite accessible for many.” (JazzMania Belgium)
Dr. VanHemert currently serves as Director of Jazz Studies at the Schwob School of Music. Prior to his appointment at Columbus State University, Dr. VanHemert served on the faculty of Hope College. He was also the Music Director and founder of the Holland Concert Jazz
Orchestra, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to jazz advocacy, education, and performance.
VanHemert regularly works with music organizations to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He also serves as a co-chair on the Columbus State University College of the Arts Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee and the North American Saxophone Alliance Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Accessibility. He holds degrees from Central Michigan University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign. VanHemert is a Vandoren Artist-Clinician, Selmer Paris Saxophones Performing Artist, and KeyLeaves endorsing artist. He performs exclusively on Vandoren reeds and mouthpieces and Selmer Paris saxophones, and he uses KeyLeaves products on all of his saxophones. You can learn more about Jordan at his website, jordanvanhemert.com.
Gina Benalcazar, trombone
New York City-based low brass specialist Gina Benalcazar is one of the most in-demand doublers on the scene. Having degrees in both Classical Performance and Jazz Studies, Gina’s playing can be described as having a deep understanding of the Bass Trombone and jazz harmony and language. Under the mentorship of artists such as Michael Dease, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Luis Bonilla, David Gibson, and Doug Purviance, she has had the opportunity
to work with some of the world’s most prolific band leaders. She can be found playing with The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, The Roy Hargrove Big Band, Etienne Charles’ Creole Soul, The Rufus Reid Big Band, and others. In 2017 she won the seat of Bass Trombonist for Rodney Whitaker’s Jazz Orchestra at Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando Florida, is the Bass Trombonist of Dee Dee Bridgewater Big Band, holds a Tenor Trombone seat in the Ulysses Owens Jr. New Century Big Band and holds the Bass Trombone seat in David Gibson’s Big Band. She’s also played as a sideperson with various ensemble orientations and worked in education with artists such as Michael Dease, Alon Yavnai, Chris Potter, Michael Mossman, Rodney Whitaker, David Gibson, Luis Bonilla, Marshall Gilkes, Conrad Herwig, Kenny Rampton, Marlene Rosenburg, and many more. She is also one of the Administrative Faculty at the Brevard Jazz Institute, under the direction of Michael Dease.
Gina has also had the opportunity to record with groups such as the Mica Bethea big band, releasing the albums “The Mica Bethea Big Band” and “Suite Theory”, Ulysses Owens New Century Jazz Orchestra “Soul Conversations,” Michael Dease’s “Bonafide”, is on one track of the album “One-Track Mind” by the Becoming Quintet, and is credited as an arranger on one track on Michael Dease’s album, “Reaching Out.” Her full discography can be found on her website.
Gina is also a band leader for a quintet called “The BOUNCE” which was selected for a Chamber Music of America grant in 2019. They perform in clubs around the North East, as well as in Lansing Michigan, and are releasing their debut record in Spring of 2023 (date to be announced soon). She can be booked for performances, festivals, masterclasses, and guest artist series.
Rhythm
Marc Cordray, drums
Marc Cordray has been performing and teaching music for over 30 years. Marc earned his Bachelors from Berklee College of Music and a Masters from The New England Conservatory of Music. He plays and teaches drums and piano.
Marc gigs four to six times a week with a rocking blues band and other bands in every other genre. Marc frequently fills in for bands of all genres and performs as the house drummer for theater productions. He has been recorded on ten professional albums.
He is a professor of music appreciation at Heritage University, teaching history and appreciation of blues, jazz, and rock and roll. In addition to his teaching, performing, composing, and recording, Marc was Music Director for three theater productions. He has received multiple grants from MusiCares, a division of the Grammys.
Marc teaches drums and piano privately. He loves coffee so much he roasts his own and drinks at least a pot or two a day. He and his wife live in Hawaii.
Olivia Salas, bass
Olivia Salas is a dynamic bassist, songwriter, music educator, and arts advocate. Equally at home in the concert hall and in the recording studio, she was appointed the Principal Bassist of the Savannah Philharmonic in 2023 and earned her first GRAMMY nomination in 2021 for her songwriting and bass playing contributions to Leon Bridge’s latest album, Golddiggers Sound. She is a graduate from Oberlin College and Conservatory, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Classical Double Bass Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience; and she holds a Masters of Music in Double Bass Performance from UCLA. She has worked with musicians from critically acclaimed ensembles such as the San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, and Vienna Philharmonic. In addition to her performance pursuits, she is interested in the beneficial effects of music, and she has contributed to publications of neuroscience research focused on the potential of music to serve as an alternative treatment of various attentional disorders. Olivia has spent the last several years as a music educator and an advocate for access to music in historically underserved communities. Notably, she works as a Teaching Artist and Education/Curriculum Coordinator for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) program.
Spencer Alexander, guitar
Spencer Alexander is a Guitarist, Composer, Producer, and Educator. After completing his degree, Spencer made the Low Country his new home, marking the occasion with the release of his first studio album, “In Sincerest Regards”. In addition to his band, you can find Spencer playing with Emerald Empire Band, and Earthtones, and teaching lessons at the Savannah Music Festival Jazz Academy.
Caili O’Doherty, piano
New York-based pianist, composer, arranger and educator, Caili O’Doherty (pronounced “KAY-lee” “oh-DOE-er-tee”), is known for integrating structures of language in both her compositions and her approach to improvisation. Her recent music focuses on the celebration, preservation, and expansion upon the achievements of jazz’s unsung women heroes. O’Doherty has received national awards for piano performance and composition from the ASCAP Foundation and Downbeat Magazine.
Praised by All About Jazz for its “exquisitely forged, dramatic and darkly hued pieces”, O’Doherty’s debut release Padme (2015) uses lyrics to give the melodies a natural rhythm of language. Padme was selected as a Downbeat Magazine Editor’s pick and received a 4-star review in All About Jazz. The latest release from O’Doherty is Quarantine Dream (Posi-Tone Records 2022).The album release is followed by a U.S. CD release tour with support from a Jazz Road grant from South Arts.
The Caili O’Doherty Quintet was selected by the U.S. Department of State as one of ten ensembles to participate in the 2022-23 American Music Abroad U.S. State Department tour. In 2021, O’Doherty received a Chamber Music America Presenters Consortium for Jazz Grant to present her newest project, “Caili O’Doherty: Celebrating Lil Hardin Armstrong”, featuring her arrangements of compositions by pianist, composer, and vocalist Lil Hardin Armstrong.
She has performed at the Kimmel Center, SF Jazz, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Panama Jazz Festival, Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, concert halls throughout China and UNESCO First International Jazz Day in Paris, as well as two US State Dept. supported tours to Colombia and Togo and Benin in West Africa.
O’Doherty currently works in the education department at Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) as a piano accompanist for the WeBop early childhood jazz education program. She leads educational performances in New York City schools about jazz, democracy and civil rights as a bandleader for JALC’s Jazz for Young People program. O’Doherty has been a faculty member at the Stanford Jazz Workshop since 2012, as well as faculty at the University of Wisconsin Madison Summer Music Clinic and Litchfield Jazz Camp. She is a graduate of Berklee College of Music (BM ’13) and Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College (MM ’19).
Caili O’Doherty is a Nord Keyboard Artist.