The Executive Board of musicWays Germany e.V. is delighted to announce that the Westphalian children’s and youth jazz orchestra ‘UniJAZZity’ – winner of the 2016 WDR Jazz Prize in the ‘Young Talent’ category – has been operating under our auspices since spring 2025. UniJAZZity stands out like no other big band in our region for its commitment to fostering musical talent and is regarded as the unofficial training ground for the North Rhine-Westphalia State Youth Jazz Orchestra (JJO NRW).
Warm welcome, dear Unijazzities!
UniJAZZity, founded in 2009 as a collaboration between the Beckum-Warendorf Music School and Kulturgut Haus Nottbeck, brings together over 30 members – older children and teenagers – and impresses with its impressive repertoire and outstanding musical skill.
The Big Band aims to provide up-and-coming talents with a platform, mentoring and friendships, so that they can grow together and realise their musical dreams. Many former ‘UniJAZZities’ go on to join the North Rhine-Westphalia State Youth Jazz Orchestra (JJO NRW) or pursue a professional career in music. The Big Band, which won the WDR Jazz Prize in 2016, was led for many years by the renowned trumpet soloist and jazz musician Christian Kappe (2009–2021). Under his leadership, the orchestra gained a wealth of stage experience and made a name for itself on the music scene – with performances at the Essen Philharmonie, the Friedenssaal in Münster and joint concerts with leading figures such as Masha Bijlsma and Jason Yarde.
Since 2021, UniJAZZity has been run by a dedicated team of lecturers comprising Patrick Porsch, Dieter Kuhlmann, Evgeny Rind and Christian Kappe.
Audiorecordings
UniJAZZity has released two CDs to date: Just in time for the 2016 WDR Jazz Prize ceremony, the orchestra’s debut album, "Hit the Ground", was released – eleven great songs from music history, performed with verve under the baton of Christian Kappe and sponsored by RWE. This was followed by the second CD “Get in Line”, featuring eleven further interpretations, including works by Gordon Goodwin, Charlie Parker and Hector Gabriel Pérez, supported by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL). Both CDs are available from our online shop.
Videorecordings
As well as the CDs, UniJAZZity is also available to watch: the short film “UniJAZZity” profiles the orchestra under the artistic direction of Christian Kappe and the organisational leadership of Dirk Bogdanski, and was made possible with the support of Sparkasse Münsterland-Ost. An official music video for ‘Semente’ (music: Michael League, arrangement: Julius Hülshoff), featuring UniJAZZity and Tilman Rademacher as ‘Der Captain’, was produced by Arvid Film Filmwerkstatt Münster and funded as part of the ‘Landmusik’ programme run by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. If you’d like to see more live performances, you’ll find plenty of concert recordings in our YouTube playlist, including ‘Hit The Ground Running’, ‘Come Fly With Me’ and ‘North Shore Evening’.
UniJAZZity is always on the lookout for talented young musicians from the Münster and Rhineland regions who are keen to explore the big-band sound, ranging from swing to modern jazz, Latin and pop. Interested? Please fill in this form and send it back to the UniJAZZity team!
For enquiries regarding contact details or bookings, please feel free to contact the UniJAZZity team via Patrick Porsch (porsch@musikschulesoest.de) at any time.
