Justin Binek

jazz vocalist ~ pianist ~ educator ~ composer ~ arranger ~ clinician

biography

schedule

compositions
& arrangements

educational resources

ABOUT JUSTIN...

Justin Binek is the Director of Vocal Jazz Studies at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, where he directs the UArts Jazz Singers, Sus4 vocal quartet, and Jamaican Meh' Crazy Caribbean jazz ensemble; teaches Jazz Improvisation, Musicianship, and Applied Voice; and serves as an accompanist and vocal coach. Under his direction, the UArts Jazz Singers co-headlined the 2006 Ohio Jazz Summit; the ensemble has also given feature performances at regional conferences, including the 2008 Berks Jazz Festival, Delaware and New Jersey Music Educators Associations, and the Collegiate Music Society Northeast Region, and will be presenting feature performances at the 2008 International Society for Music Education World Conference in Bologna, Italy. He was the recipient of the university's President's Award for Teaching Excellence in a Junior Faculty Member in 2007.

Justin also maintains an active jazz and classical performing schedule as a singer, pianist, steel pannist, and saxophonist, as well as being a frequent adjudicator and guest performer at premiere jazz festivals. He is an active arranger and composer whose works are now published by Sound Music Publications. A contributing author to Diana Spradling's groundbreaking new book, Jazz Singing: Artistry and Craft, Justin presented "The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Scat Singers" at the 2008 International Association for Jazz Education annual conference in Toronto, Ontario. He also premiered a concert of sacred jazz music with Polish pianist Bartosz Hadala at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint James in Brooklyn, NY, on Palm Sunday 2007, a concert that was videotaped and broadcast by the Prayer Channel.

Justin regularly works with high school and collegiate choral and instrumental ensembles, including recent collaborations with the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA) and the Projazz Escuela Internacional de Musica in Santiago, Chile. He has spent the past six years as a partner in the Heartland vocal camp in Tiffin, OH, and also served as a show choir and vocal jazz clinician for the International Music Camp in Dunseith, ND, for nine years. He has directed numerous honors choirs at collegiate, high school, and middle school levels, and was the featured choral presenter at the 2007 Pennsylvania Music Educators summer conference. He has also presented workshops at the Delaware, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania Music Educators Association annual conferences.

Prior to joining the UArts faculty, Justin was the Director of Choral and Jazz Ensembles at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. Under his direction, the university's Concert Choir was prominently featured in the Public Television documentary "A Soulful Sound: The Music of the Germans from Russia." A North Dakota native, Justin received a BS: Music Education and a BA; Music Performancee from the University of Mary (2000). He then earned an MM: Voice Performance from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI (2002), where he was the Assistant Director of the award-winning vocal jazz ensemble "Gold Company" and received two DownBeat Student Music Awards. Justin and his wife, Claire, also a professional singer and member of the UArts voice faculty, live in Philadelphia.