SLO County jazz club to launch conservatory for student musicians
College and high school student musicians in San Luis Obispo County will soon have a new resource — a conservatory program set to launch next year in Paso Robles.
In 2021, Paso Robles resident and business owner Corey Jordan opened LIBRETTO, a performance venue that features a world-class Steinway grand piano, and has hosted a series of Grammy-winning musicians performing jazz, blues, classical and opera.
Jordan also owns Paso Robles coffeehouse AMSTRDM, which is where the idea for LIBRETTO originally came to life.
“We had a very famous and very talented gentleman walk in here during COVID and I helped him and I didn’t recognize who it was because everyone was wearing masks,” Jordan told The Tribune.
That man was Jeff Babko, a keyboardist and pianist who plays on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show. Babko inquired about the Steinway piano in the corner of the coffeehouse and ultimately became the first non-local performer to play at AMSTRDM.
From there, Babko recommended that other artists visit and perform at AMSTRDM, which ultimately fueled the demand for a venue like LIBRETTO.
And since its conception, LIBRETTO has been actively involved in local music enrichment. Over the past year, it has hosted jam sessions with established musicians alongside music students from Cal Poly, Cuesta College and local high schools and middle schools.
Now, LIBRETTO is taking the next step — in 2025, it will officially launch the Libretto Conservatory, a program that will provide enriched music education for young, aspiring musicians in SLO County.
The conservatory will be led by renowned jazz pianist and composer Michael Ragonese, who has worked alongside high-profile musicians including Barbra Streisand. Ragonese runs his own music school in Los Angeles, which has launched students into prestigious programs at Julliard and Berklee College of Music.
At the Libretto Conservatory, Ragonese will use his own curriculum to teach a series of five-week intensives.
The quarterly programs will be audition-based. Two ensembles of no more than six musicians each will be selected for each course — one for high school and one for college-aged musicians — to form a 10- to 12-person combo. All instruments are welcome.
Applications are open and available on Ragonese’s website.
“Rags Combo implements a balanced approach to music pedagogy, providing classroom learning, one-on-one instruction, collaboration, and live performance experience,” the website reads. “Students will gain valuable experience transferring what they learn in class to the stage with confidence.”
Jordan, a pianist himself, told The Tribune he sees the conservatory as a way to strengthen the community and its culture through music and education.
“It’s a no-brainer,” Jordan said. “We’re just trying to grow it.”
Dylan Johnson, a musician and instructor at both Cal Poly and Cuesta, has been actively involved at LIBRETTO since it opened. He told The Tribune that he’s excited for his students to have the chance to audition, perform live and get an outsider’s perspective on their music.
“It’s going to be difficult to get into, so it’ll end up being the cream of the crop of the young local musicians,” Johnson said. “Because of that, it’ll be really rewarding in the sense that they’ll be working at as high of a level as possible.”
The conservatory is currently funded primarily through donations. In hopes that future courses will remain tuition-free, LIBRETTO is hosting a donation-based concert Dec. 16 as a fundraiser for the program in partnership with the SLO Career Technical Education Foundation.
The concert will showcase Jordan on piano alongside cellist Giovanna Clayton of the L.A. Chamber Orchestra.
Those interested in attending the concert or making donations should contact LIBRETTO at corey@amstrdmpaso.com.
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