The 48th Annual Next Generation Jazz Festival | March 9th-11th, 2018

2018 Next Generation Jazz Festival Presented by Monterey Jazz Festival

Now Accepting Applications

Monterey, Calif.; October 18, 2017; Monterey Jazz Festival, a leader in jazz education since its inception in 1958, is pleased to announce the 48th Annual Next Generation Jazz Festival, featuring the nation’s most talented middle school, high school, conglomerate, and college instrumental and vocal jazz ensembles and soloists at the newly-renovated Monterey Conference Center from March 9-11, 2018.

The free Next Generation Jazz Festival will feature saxophonist Tia Fuller and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen as the Monterey Jazz Festival 2018 Artists-In-Residence.

An evolution from Monterey Jazz Festival’s California High School Jazz Competition which began in 1971, applications are now being accepted from middle school big bands; high school big bands, combos, vocal jazz ensembles, vocal soloists and composers; high school conglomerate big bands and combos; and college big bands, combos and vocal jazz ensembles through January 14, 2018.

Application instructions are on the Monterey Jazz Festival’s website, www.montereyjazzfestival.org/NGJF.

Next Generation Jazz Festival finalists are selected through recorded auditions reviewed and ranked by a panel of nationally-renowned jazz educators. Finalists will include 12 big bands, six combos, eight vocal jazz ensembles and six vocal soloists in the high school division. Six college big bands, six college combos, and six college vocal jazz ensembles will also be selected, in addition to six high school conglomerate big bands, six high school conglomerate combos, and six middle school big bands.

In addition, special invited groups will also perform. In 2017, 93 groups from across the United States attended the Next Generation Jazz Festival.

The high school, conglomerate, and college divisions of the Next Generation Jazz Festival are open to superior rated big bands, combos, and vocal ensembles. The top groups will win cash awards and be invited to perform at the 61st Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, September 21-23, 2018.

Online auditions for Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra will also be held through March 25, 2018. As Monterey Jazz Festival’s premier touring student ensemble, this group performs at jazz venues and festivals, both domestically and internationally, and will be featured in a Sunday Arena performance at the 61st Annual Monterey Jazz Festival.

The Next Generation Jazz Festival Presented by Monterey Jazz Festival also includes a big band composition competition, open to high school composers. Judged by college faculty from leading music schools across the country, the winning composer will receive the Gerald Wilson Award and a cash prize, with the winning composition to be performed by the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra on the final day of the 61st Annual Monterey Jazz Festival.

All Next Generation Jazz Festival events and activities, from Friday night’s Kick-Off Judges Concert Presented by the California Jazz Conservatory, featuring the Next Generation Jazz Festival Adjudicators, through Saturday and Sunday’s High School Jazz Competition, are free of charge and open to the public. The Festival will also conduct clinics, workshops, jam sessions, and auditions in the heart of historic Monterey, with music to be performed at the Monterey Conference Center, as well as on spotlight stages in downtown Monterey.

Interested schools and students should visit www.montereyjazzfestival.org/NGJF for instructions on how to apply to the Next Generation Jazz Festival.

About Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates the legacy of jazz, expands its boundaries, and provides opportunities to experience jazz through the creative production of performances and educational programs.

Monterey Jazz Festival is honored to receive support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, NEA Artworks, Blue Note at Sea, Hep C Hope®, Yamaha, District 7, North Coast Brewing Company, Inns of Monterey, Taylor Farms, Macy’s, Aqua Terra Culinary, Montage Health, Integris Wealth Management, Monterey Bay Aquarium, City of Monterey, ThinOPTICS, Larabar, AT&T, JAZZIZ, DownBeat, JazzTimes, KSBW/Estrella TV, KAZU, SmoothJazz.com Global, Monterey Herald, Remo, Alvarez Technology, and Mission Linen Supply.