By CHRISTOPHER MADSEN

One of the greatest things about being a jazz student at Juilliard is that we have one of the most performance-based programs in the country. While a lot of other students are sitting in classrooms learning how to perform, we are out there doing it. And one of the most vital aspects of performance for jazz musicians is touring, which we got a healthy dose of this summer. Most of Juilliard's jazz students got to perform abroad twice—and some, three separate times.

On tour in August, jazz students performed an outdoor concert at Morazan Park in San José, Costa Rica. (Photo courtesy Juan Diego Roldan) For more images of the jazz and orchestra tours, go to the Slide Show: Tours 2005 on the Centennial Page.

Back in summer 2004, the directors of Juilliard's jazz program were approached by a Japanese promoter interested in offering our students the opportunity to perform in his native country. The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, in addition to being one of the highest-quality bands of its kind, is still relatively young, and because of this, its performances have a certain mystique, attracting the curious more than most other college-age groups. Given the inherent love of the Japanese for American jazz, it made perfect sense to bring the Jazz Orchestra to Japanese shores in August 2005.

But first—literally days after graduation on May 20—a quintet of jazz students was whisked away to the Central American country of Costa Rica for a week of cultural exchange involving performances and workshops, along with some sightseeing.

Much like its neighbor to the north, Costa Rica is a country of opposites: the lush green of the rainforest is only an hour's drive from the gritty urban streets of San José. The wealthy live in estates that tower over the shanties of the destitute. Institutes of culture and fine art abound, but lack adequate funding and resources. The western portion of the country is typical of Spanish-speaking Latin America, while the eastern coast is like a slice of the Caribbean. Indeed, Costa Rica is as diverse as the U.S., but a definite sense of unity binds the nation together.

This sense of unity is most apparent in the general good-naturedness of the locals. Rather than being put up in a local hotel, we Juilliard students were each assigned to a host family for the duration of our stay. We were leery of the idea at first, but I can say unequivocally that each one of us found our hosts quite hospitable. Not only did our families feed us wonderful, local food daily, but most had student musicians our age who were very interested in jazz and treated us with curiosity and wonderment.

We had been briefed on our itinerary before our departure, but nothing prepared us for just how packed our days would actually be. If we weren't presenting a master class for local students, we were on our way to one, or performing a concert, or playing a jam session at the local jazz club in San José. It would have been taxing had the locals not been so receptive, encouraging us to play encores at most performances. Although jazz is less popular in Central America than at home, our activities were well attended by students of all ages.

The last day of our busy week was reserved for sightseeing, and we drove into the hills, passing bend after bend of majestic scenery and cultivated farmland to reach one the many active volcanoes in the country. At the summit, most of us felt underdressed, as the temperature had dropped 20 degrees. We crossed a brown plain rendered lifeless by years of lava flows to reach the crater, containing a pool of eerily green water at its base. A thick mist gave the place a supernatural feeling.

We bid farewell to our newfound friends knowing that we would see them again in August, when the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra (our largest, 18-piece ensemble) would return for additional cultural exchange. But first, we had some time to enjoy the summer months back in the United States. In the Jazz Studies Office, that time was spent largely in preparations for the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra's first official tour of the centennial season—and the first time this ensemble has traveled overseas as a unit. The first of two countries hosting us for this historic event would be Japan.

We students found out about the trip right before winter break of the previous school year. Only a few of us had ever been to Japan, and everyone was eager to go. Luckily for us, one of our jazz students happens to be Japanese and has been living in the U.S. more than half of his life. He was about to get more than he bargained for, serving the dual role of student musician and translator for our directors.

A few days after the 14-hour flight and resulting jet lag, our bodies had adjusted to the time difference—but I don't think we ever fully adjusted to the culture shock that Japan presented. It was less like visiting a foreign country and more along the lines of a nearby planet; it is influenced by Western ideas but approaches them in a completely different manner.

We couldn't have chosen a more exciting and inviting country to host our first international endeavor. The hospitality shown to us by both the Japanese citizens and our guides was nothing short of amazing; we were treated so well that many of us were nearly embarrassed much of the time. At each of our performance venues, huge crowds lined the entrance and applauded our arrival. The students at the various schools where we performed were excited simply to shake our hands, and the autograph requests seemed endless after our concerts.

Read a related article, Whirlwind European Tour for the Juilliard Orchestra.

There is a much wider appreciation of jazz in Japan than in the U.S., evident in everyday activities. In most restaurants and boutiques, the music of choice on the radio isn't the latest pop song or brand of soft rock, but American jazz. I remember thinking how bizarre it felt to be in a restaurant and hear one of my favorite jazz artists without listening to my iPod. And then I wondered, why should that be bizarre? We are so used to jazz being the underdog of the music world that when it's put at the forefront of a culture, it seems odd. How ironic that the country in which jazz was born and bred has been eclipsed as a haven for its only original musical art form!

Reeling from excessive hospitality and extreme jet lag, we found ourselves back in the U.S. once again for a few days before departing for Costa Rica. Of the group that went in May, only two of us (myself included) returned for a second time in August. Of course a larger group presents more logistical challenges, but our students were so happy to be on tour playing for appreciative audiences that things couldn't have worked out any better. We saw good friends that we had made three months prior, and were offered much more in the way of free time and less of a jam-packed schedule this time around.

As Americans, we pride ourselves on the sense of cultural diversity that helped build our country. A different kind of diversity within one culture awaited us in Costa Rica and Japan—inspiring us to remember that diversity itself helped to make jazz possible at all. Though born and bred in North America, jazz has a transcendental quality that allows our neighbors around the world to enjoy it as much as we do.

Christopher Madsen, who earned an artist's diploma in jazz this past May, is performance coordinator in the jazz studies department.