Feature

New Director of Instrumental Music

Chris Navarrete brings extensive experience to Music Department

“I love Jazz, it embodies freedom. It’s really just freedom of expression,” said Chris Navarrete, Kirkwood Community College’s new director of instrumental music who started in July.  

Navarrete was the former director of bands at California State University, Chico. He also graduated from the same institution where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in jazz studies, music education, and music performance before earning his master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado.

 Navarrete is currently completing a dissertation for his Doctor of Arts in music performance and jazz studies. He passionately described it as, “It has everything to do with jazz pedagogy. And I think I’m going to be scratching a lot of people’s heads in the best way possible. It focuses on this idea of alleviating burnout in musician world.” 

Navarrete attributed his passion for teaching to the nurturing personality of his father who cultivated that mindset in him.  

Family, a priority for many, was specified by the new director as the reason he moved to the area. Navarrete explained that he moved from California for family reasons, mainly to be closer to his wife’s family in Michigan.  

Navarrete remarked that he did a lot of job interviews before accepting a position with Kirkwood. 

He commented that during an interview with Dean of Arts and Humanities Dr. Jennifer Cunningham and the rest of the search committee, he found everyone incredibly nice and welcoming despite its virtual nature. 

Navarrete also attributed his positive impression to the warmth of Kristin Clague, operations coordinator, and Dr. Allison Holmes-Bendixen, assistant professor of music, during his in-person interview. 

Navarrete described his time and environment at Kirkwood so far as “very personable” and “a fantastic mix” of business and pleasure. 

The new director described settling into his role as busy. “I like to think of myself as a person that has vision for a program, I like to grow things. So, there’s always something to do. For example, this room right here is Cedar Hall 3098. We also call it the band room. I like to call it the multi-purpose room because orchestra is in here, jazz is in here, band, concert band, it’s in here. Theatre uses it.  

“So, one of my biggest goals is to transform this room into more of an operating room. And I know Dr. Kiser, the choir director, just filled out some grants for them to transform this room,” he said. 

Navarrete explained his vision for the future of the program at Kirkwood. “The biggest thing is making sure that we bridge the community college role to provide opportunities for the students here to progress into the next level before university. Another is to prepare them to just go into the industry, which I’m also doing, or at least planning to set the program up to do so well,” he said.     

Navarrete added, “And the last thing is for non-music majors, which is really important to me. Music can be viewed as a holistic education piece of the puzzle. 

“I understand that not everybody’s going to major in music. This could be an outlet for folks to connect to a different side of the brain that they don’t use all the time. 

“A creative way, if their major demands more of a logistical approach. And vice versa, if their major is incredibly creative, we can make it more logistical and balanced as part of the holistic learning here at Kirkwood. So, those are the three areas that I’ve been trying to map out and try to balance.” 

Upcoming performances include student combos, jazz ensemble, a band concert, an orchestra concert, the fall musical “Into the Woods” and bi-weekly jam sessions at the Iowa Hall stage. Navarrete further elaborated on the jam sessions, “Jam sessions are an old term that was invented during the Bebop era during the late 1940s going into the 50s. Charlie Parker is a good name, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, a lot of these guys. Basically, it’s a group of musicians that get together in a public setting or an apartment. So, these rent parties get together, play a tune and just take turns soloing and stuff like that…It’s an opportunity to get these guys playing. I’ll play with them on the stage.…It’s a great way to branch out and offer a performance opportunity for not just the folks in the program, but in the school.”

Image courtesy of Alice Blackbriar | Kirkwood Communiqué