Home from the US on a semester break, 19-year-old Canberra jazz singer Matilda Lorenz is planning to show off what she’s been learning at the renowned Eastman School of Music for the past six months.

When I spoke to Lorenz  last, she was preparing a farewell gig at Smith’s Alternative, and she’ll be back there again on Wednesday for what she calls a “super spontaneous” performance where she’ll be joined by four of Canberra’s most respected jazz instrumentalists: Lachlan Coventry (guitar), Chris Pound (bass), Luke Glanville (drums) and John Mackey (saxophone).

She was 19 when she left town and is now just a couple of weeks short of turning 20, making her the oldest student in the first-year intake at Eastman.  In the US, she notes, the idea of a gap year hasn’t really permeated the culture.

When I catch up with her, Lorenz  reports being thrown in at the deep end as she settled into campus accommodation in Rochester, while adjusting to the formidable workload and high academic standards. There are no assignment extensions at Eastman.

In the US she shares a room in campus housing and has quickly made friends through common interests, including with some exchange students from her native country, Germany.

With the campus right in the middle of downtown Rochester and close to Lake Ontario, there is “music morning, noon and night,” she says. Practice rooms in the building known as “the Annex” are in constant demand, and you have to be pretty assertive to snap one up.

First-year courses are heavy on classical and jazz theory, alongside studies designed to build a broad professional skill set.  There are also piano classes, but Lorenz  is well prepared, having played since the age of 13. “Pretty well all musicians compose on the piano,” she says.

A highlight has been one-to-one vocal classes with American jazz singer Sara Gazarek, who directs the voice studies stream.

Gazarek specialises in teaching singers how to convey emotional vulnerability, focus in ballads, the power of lyrics, and how to craft a clear message through song.

Another key course is band leading, an essential skill for any jazz singer who, as the centre of attention, must cue band members using a range of signals.

What Lorenz  describes as an “inspiring environment” is rich with masterclasses and concerts, with recent highlights including performances by drummers Otis Brown III and Terri Lyne Carrington.

As for the upcoming Smith’s gig, it will be a chance for her to share some of the standards she’s been studying, alongside a few current favourites.

Matilda Lorenz  and Quintet, Smith’s Alternative, Civic, 7pm-9pm, January 7.