2025 has been a record-setting and busy year for students in our JazzArts Academy!

In January 2025, the JazzArts All-Star Ensemble traveled to the Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia to participate in the JENerations Jazz Festival. In addition to their performance, the group immersed themselves in jazz performances, presentations, and lectures as part of the conference. It was a life-changing experience for all involved!

In February, for the first time ever, JazzArts Academy presented their Band Director Academy, a professional development workshop for middle and high school band directors. Led by special guest clinician, Julius Tolentino and assisted by JazzArts Academy faculty members, this program focused on the essentials of teaching jazz while incorporating practical and hands-on learning techniques.

A new offering to our “Jazz in Schools” programming, the JazzArts Academy introduced “JazzSLAM” in March. JazzSLAM supports teachers in the disciplines of language, arts, and math and is designed to support teachers’ efforts to raise student’s standardized test scores. This workshop partnered JazzArts Charlotte, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

2025 marked our highest summer music camp enrollment in program history! During the last week in June, students learned jazz history, improvisation, and performance all while gaining self-confidence and creativity! Each day, our students were guided by some of the best jazz performers and educators in the region. Additionally, they were joined by special guest instructor and Charlotte-native, Ashlin Parker, and special guest camp clinician, bassist Philip Norris!

We continue to offer Youth Ensembles + Workshops, which also hit record enrollment numbers this year. In this program, students in grades 7-12 improve their individual skills within the context of a small jazz ensemble while exploring jazz styles, standard repertoire, jazz improvisation, and history. Additionally, our Nuestro Tiempo Latin Jazz Youth Orchestra’s musicianship continues to rise and gives students the opportunity to perform repertoire in a Latin Jazz orchestra and learn fundamentals including clave rhythms, improvisational theory, and Latin Jazz history.

It has been an amazing year, and we look forward to more exciting programs and opportunities in the JazzArts Academy in 2026!