2025 Summer Jazz Workshop

2025 Summer Jazz Workshop, August 3 – 9

First-time applicants, please send your audition recordings BEFORE registering.

Location: The Putney School in Putney, Vermont

   

Greetings! The Vermont Jazz Center’s 50th Summer Jazz Workshop will take place on the beautiful campus of The Putney School.

A hands-on program heralded for giving participants ample playing time and direct access to caring, high-level, professional instructors who are both working musicians and experienced educators.

The workshop takes place on the campus of a private school in rural Vermont where the sounds of jazz mingle with the ambiance of farm life, where the delicious farm-to-table food we eat reminds us of what it’s like to live close to the land. The facilities are excellent and include over a dozen tuned pianos, ample ensemble spaces, and PA gear. The environment is pure Vermont – hiking and mountain bike trails are accessible directly from campus.

Vocalists and instrumentalists interested in participating in a focused week of creating music together should register as soon as possible to ensure placement.

   

For 50 years, the basic premise of the VJC Summer Workshop has been to create a community through music that is based on improvisation. Our music is an ensemble-oriented art form that is reliant on listening, honesty and creating strong relationships. The VJC Summer Workshop is dedicated to creating an environment that fosters playing situations that honor the historical legacy of our music while embracing forward-thinking concepts through jam sessions, ensembles and listening opportunities. We believe in complementing structured access to information (i.e. in theory and masterclasses) with hands-on performance opportunities. The academic nature of classroom learning is fused with the spirited blowouts of late-night jam sessions and fine-tuned in faculty-coached ensembles.

This program has been crafted over the course of five decades and fueled by the long-lasting relationships cultivated when musicians gather to attain similar, personal objectives.

Faculty concert: Thursday, August 7th at 7:30 pm
Student concert: Friday, August 8th at 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm

FACULTY
Voice: Sheila Jordan, Amy London
Woodwinds: Anabel Gil Díaz (flute), Stacy Dillard, Michael Zsoldos
Trumpet: Haneef Nelson, Rob Freeberg
Trombone: Ben Barnett
Piano: Harvey Diamond, Ray Gallon, Franz Robert, Helen Sung, Eugene Uman
Guitar: Freddie Bryant
Bass: Cameron Brown, Malik McLaurine, David Picchi
Drums: Brian Shankar Adler, Claire Arenius
Percussion: Julian Gerstin
Faculty participation may change due to touring and other factors

TUITION
Double occupancy rooms – $1,845
Off-campus rooms, includes all meals – $1,395
One day rate, includes lunch and dinner – $390
Scholarships/Work Study available

First time applicants: 

Email a recorded example of you performing a ballad and an up-tempo tune. Instrumentalists include at least one chorus of improvisation. Send to BOTH eugene@vtjazz.org and elsa@vtjazz.org 

PAYMENT DETAILS
Deposit Payment: Initial 50% of total tuition due at time of registration (reserve your space)
Balance Payment: Due June 30, 2025 (second 50% of total tuition)

REFUND POLICY
Before June 30th, 2025: Total payments made are refundable, minus $100 processing fee
July 1-25, 2025: 50% of total payments made are non-refundable
July 26, 2025 onward: Total workshop payments made are non-refundable