LJF celebrates 30 years in 2025!
Time flies when you’re making great music, educating students, and bringing joy!
In a world with way too much sadness and strife, music is one anodyne to which one can turn. It buoys your spirits and can even save your sanity. Better yet, it’s guaranteed to bring you JOY.
Litchfield Jazz did its level best this past summer to create its own “slice of joy” for as many folks as we could cram into our time-honored Litchfield Jazz Camp and Festival and our free Jazz After Work LJC concert series.
Litchfield Jazz Camp was filled with increasingly-more talented and aspiring young people—325 of them to be exact, across July. Not all could afford to come, but with help from friends like you and charitable groups, we supported 17% of our campers who demonstrated need. No one was turned away for the 28th year in a row! Mostly teenagers, from rank beginners to accomplished players, we even had a few prodigies and more dedicated senior citizens than ever. Everyone is welcome at Litchfield. You simply have to play an instrument, know your notes and want to come. That’s it. And thanks to you, we’ve made this formula work for nearly three decades!
The Litchfield Jazz Festival was downright magical. Opening with the uber-talented saxophonist and former camper Alexa Tarantino on Friday night and, on Saturday, with the stunning 24-voice Matsiko World Orphan Choir who joined the Amina Figarova Sextet in her Suite for Africa. This show gave us the chance to do what all nonprofits should – help other nonprofits whenever they can! The children hailed from Liberia, a poverty-plagued nation. They were here on a mission to raise funds to support education for other’s back home, and they succeeded! And we were delighted to help. Saturday’s fest continued with the renowned Allison, Cardenas and Nash trio and closed with the incomparable Bill Charlap Trio who received the third standing ovation of a three-act day of standing “o’s”!!
On Sunday, we wrapped it all up with the Litchfield Jazz Fest Brunch which, as ever, was a sellout. It starred two of our favorite musicians and former campers, saxophonist and camp Operations Director, Albert Rivera and the 2024 GRAMMY Winner for Best Jazz Vocal Album, Nicole Zuraitis. Nicole now, 39, and Albert,41, met in their early teens at LJC, remained friends and have both served on faculty for many years.
So, why this preamble to an appeal letter? Well, I want you to know not just what we do but why we do it so we can both feel good about my asking for your help to keep this thing going! In case you need more encouragement, whether you are a loyal giver or a first-time donor, please consider this: In 2024, LJC distributed $70,000 in need-based scholarships. That is no mean feat, and we could not have done it without you! Students began calling us almost as soon as camp ended to see how they could attend again next summer. Our scholarship request has remained pretty consistent across the years, but our costs for housing, feeding and teaching these students has gone up strikingly. Everything goes up, we all know that, and we hope your support will as well. Know that we are grateful, and please give what you can.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Vita West Muir – Founder/Executive Director
Sincerely,
Vita West Muir
Founder/Executive Director