By GILLIAN BROWN

The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra heads to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark to perform in January, and travels to Atlanta's Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts in March. Both concerts are part of the jazz touring program. Victor L. Goines, artistic director of the Jazz Studies program, advises students to "go with an open mind. Don't be bound by what you left behind. The food, the culture, the art—get the most out of what the situation has to offer." Trying to escape the bounds of one's past experience and future expectations sounds quite Zen, but it is a solid suggestion given the scores of questions that these young artists have about the upcoming tour.

The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra performed the music of Benny Carter at Tully Hall on October 24. Pictured are (left to right) Matthew Rybicki, bass; Matthew McDonald, trombone; Lage Lund, guitar; Mike Dease, trombone; Kurt Stockdale, saxophone; James Burton, trombone; and Jonathan Irabagon, saxophone. (Photo by Peter Schaaf)

From the concrete details (Do I have to bring my suit? Are we going by plane or by bus? Is there a vegan option?) to the more abstract questions that emerge from personal concerns (How do I tolerate the inevitable frustrations? The unfamiliar mattresses? The waiting in airports?), students wonder about plenty.

By asking good questions ahead of time and using that information to get prepared (from acquiring sturdy instrument cases to practicing patience) these future professionals are fully engaged in the learning opportunities presented by touring. The tour is an important part of Jazz Studies' vision of a rigorous, pre-professional program with extensive performing experience at the core of its mission. This year alone there are more than 30 scheduled performances in a variety of venues, including the Teatro Eugene O'Neil in San José, Costa Rica; Scranton University in Scranton, Pa.; Philipsburgh Performing Arts Center in Yonkers; and Alice Tully Hall and Aaron Davis Hall in New York City, as well as assorted clubs in the city and public schools in the metropolitan New York area.

Many of the current students have been on tour before. Their advice answers some of the questions and also echoes the "open mindedness" that Goines encourages. "Be excited to see new places," says Carl Maraghi, a graduate-student saxophone player. "That first look on the Duomo in Florence, Italy … I turned a corner and there it was. Oh, man—wow!" recalls Maraghi, reflecting on last summer's trip to participate in the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. Other musicians in the program reiterate his sentiments.

"You get to go out and experience things … Switzerland was great," says Erica vonKleist, a fourth-year saxophone player who went on tour with the Hall High School Jazz Band in her native West Hartford, Conn. Her advice to musicians going on tour? "Make sure to eat well—not a lot of food, but don't eat junk. And drink a lot of water especially if you're changing time signatures—I mean, time zones!" she adds with a laugh.

In addition to the hectic, detailed schedule of the tour process itself, the experience of performing is an integral part of a professional musician's successful career. Matthew Rybicki, a graduate-student bass player, says that touring "gives you confidence. You think about the total number of human beings who have heard you and you survived, and you didn't get kicked off the stage. So you know that you're not doing too bad." Rybicki was part of a West Side Story international touring company performing in Taiwan.

Juilliard Jazz Orchestra New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ Saturday, Jan. 17, 7:15 p.m. For ticket information, please see the calendar.

Not only does this repeated performing offer the young musician a chance to practice his or her skills, but it allows a less tangible artistic phenomenon to emerge. Jonathan Irabagon, a graduate-student saxophone player, explains: "After a month of touring together, the music goes to a totally different level, like a type of ESP. You don't need to talk about it anymore because you get used to how the others play, how the group plays together; you know the tunes really well. With the repetition of songs over and over, you get real comfortable with them, and then people start trying new things."

And it is the exposure, the experience that the Juilliard Jazz Studies program hopes to foster with the tour, where young artists can experience performing in the time-honored context of crisscrossing America and the globe, sharing their art, all the while absorbing the flavors and styles that flower in different places, fostered by different people with different perspectives. "An exchange takes place," says Goines, "with exposure to other musicians, other cities, countries, the world. You get to see and hear different styles—you benefit, and they do too."

This exposure to the realities and opportunities of performing on the road is fundamental to the future success of Juilliard's young jazz musicians. It is a complex transaction in which young artists learn the craft of touring, with its crazy details, labyrinthine schedules, questions answered and unanswered. But it is the growth through an open mind on tour that is invaluable. "I was in an earthquake once in Taiwan—7.2 on the Richter Scale. I thought I was going to die," recalls Rybicki. "People responded with courage and kindness. I saw the beauty of the human spirit, and that reassured me …"

Gillian Brown is office assistant in the Jazz Studies department.