Litchfield Jazz Camp will celebrate its 30th anniversary this summer. This annual 4-week program begins on June 28th and ends July 24th with the opening of the Litchfield Jazz Festival. This year the fest will honor the camp and the extraordinary artists who made it what it is—one of the most highly regarded music camps in the nation. All of this takes place at the Frederick Gunn School in Washington, CT. Registration is open for campers 13 – adult, both boarding and day. No pre-audition is required. As always, a placement audition on arrival ensures the student is in a combo that’s just the right fit. Students with financial need are encouraged to apply for scholarships.
The camp is served by a faculty of 50 top jazz performer-educators. Students can register for one week or multiple weeks. Campers learn and perform in small groups and experience the art of their teachers on a daily basis. Most weeknights, they attend faculty concerts, joined by their families and community members and perform for the public themselves each Friday evening. The evening series, known as Jazz After Work, is open to visitors free of charge.
This summer, LJC is introducing some new master teachers and welcoming back long-time faculty members whose touring schedules allow them to join us once again. These jazz stars teach our campers the art of combo performance, improvisation, jazz theory and history, composition and more. We have a big band option and instrumental master classes. Students can also opt for private lessons once or twice a week. Knowing, after 30 years, that a fair number of our campers go on to become pros, we have added a new class on managing finances and building security for the musician.
Don Braden, the camp’s Music Director, marks his 29th year, and Albert Rivera, the Operations Director, his 20th (Albert began at Litchfield as a 15 yo camper). Selected faculty members include Luques Curtis (Eddie Palmieri band), Joris Teppe (Founder, Prinz Claus Conservatoire), Avery Sharpe (McCoy Tyner), Zaccai Curtis (2025 GRAMMY winner), Julian Shore (John Patitucci, Dayna Stephens), Steve Kortyka (Lady GaGa), Jimmy Greene (Ron Carter Quartet), Troy Roberts (Aretha Franklin, Van Morrisson), Wayne Escoffery (Yale), Paul Bollenback (Joey DeFrancesco), Matt Wilson (SF Conservatory), Jean Caze (Michael Buble), and visiting artist GRAMMY-winning vocalist (2024, 2025) Nicole Zuraitis. A complete roster of teaching artists and staff is available at www.litchfieldjazzcamp.com.
This extraordinary experience for some 300 campers closes this season as it does each year with the Litchfield Jazz Festival, “the jazz-lovers jazz festival” www.litchfieldjazzfest.com. For more information and registration for Litchfield Jazz Camp, visit www.litchfieldjazzcamp.com. Litchfield Jazz Camp is sponsored by the CT State Department of Education, DownBeat Magazine, New England Foundation for the Arts, Billy Strayhorn Foundation, The Kids of Summer Foundation, Litchfield Bancorp (for Jazz After Work), The Jean and Julien Levy Foundation, and Litchfield Performing Arts members. Litchfield Jazz is produced by the not-for-profit Litchfield Performing Arts, Inc. Questions? Contact Tegan Ryan at tegan@litchfieldjazzfest.com.