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4101 Washington Street
Wilmington, DE 19802
302-762-1132

23 N. Walnut Street
Milford, DE 19963
302-422-2043

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Small Wonder Jazz Singers is a wonderful opportunity to sing jazz and pop music in a smaller group setting while making friends ranging in age from Young Professional to Newly Retired.

Prior jazz experience is not necessary, but prior singing experience is required. Most of our new members have never sung jazz before. The ability to read music is a plus but part tracks are often provided and rehearsals are recorded and available online for further study if desired.

Martin Lassman is a jazz pianist and Choral Educator who directed the jazz choir at the Cab Calloway School of the Arts prior to his retirement. He has directed honors jazz choirs in Maryland and Delaware.

Our repertoire ranges from Duke Ellington to The Pentatonix. Potential new members are welcome to sit-in with the group for two rehearsals to experience the fun! If someone is interested in sitting in on this ensemble, their name, phone number and email address should be sent to Marty Lassman at MartyPiano88@gmail.com.

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REHEARSALS

Thursdays, 6:30–8:30 pm
Wilmington Branch

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REQUIREMENTS

Prior jazz experience is not necessary, but prior singing experience is required. Please contact the Music School at (302) 762-1132 to schedule an individual voice assessment with Martin.

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MEDIA

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MEET THE CHOIR'S DIRECTOR

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Martin ‘Marty’ Lassman has been a pianist since he was four years old. In high school he was in every available instrumental ensemble including the jazz band. He also accompanied the choirs on piano. He was drawn to the music education program at the University of Delaware where he was a trumpet major and percussion minor, but he also wrote arrangements for the Delaware Marching Band for two seasons. While at Delaware, he was the pianist in the jazz band. Following graduation, he taught band and orchestra at several Delaware middle schools while continuing to write marching band arrangements for several local colleges.

After gaining some teaching experience, Mr. Lassman earned an MS in Music Education with a piano emphasis from the University of Iowa where, once again he was the pianist in the jazz band. Upon returning to Delaware, he was the band director at Wilmington Friends School for eighteen years and grew the program so that over half the students in the Middle School played in one of the bands. During that time, he also conducted a county Independent School Jazz Band that met weekly.

In 1992, Mr. Lassman was employed by the Red Clay Consolidated School District to develop a choral music program at the newly created Cab Calloway School of the Arts. At ‘Cab’ he taught 6-7-8 grade Vocal Music Majors and also directed mixed, women’s and men’s choirs and the high school jazz choir; the JazzChords of Calloway. That choir in particular gained a reputation in Delaware and beyond for excellence through the literature they perform, the group’s stage presence and the large number of students who scat sing. The ‘JazzChords’ performed at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, for Governors and Senators and competed at Disney World three times. He retired in June 2019 after 47 years of teaching.

In 2015, he was asked to create an adult community choir - a jazz choir - at The Music School of Delaware where he teaches new singers, former friends and former students who are now adults. That choir, the Small Wonder Jazz Singers, rehearses weekly. In 2019, he started a new jazz choir at The Music School of Delaware, one for teenagers, called #Hashtag Jazz.

He is the past-president of Delaware’s chapter of the American Chorus Directors Association and is currently the treasurer. He was also the treasurer for the Delaware unit of the International Association for Jazz Education and continues to serve on the Delaware All State Jr. Chorus Committee and as the Jazz Chair of the Delaware Music Educators Association. He was the chair for the ACDA Eastern Division’s Jazz Honors Choir for the Philadelphia convention in 2010. He has conducted several Honors Choirs in Maryland and continues to adjudicate choirs at choral festivals.

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