CWU Jazz Festival

John Moawad Jazz Festival

Jazz Band Days.

Unfortunately, the jazz festival will not be happening this year due to Covid. We hope to see you in 2022!

The CWU John Mowad Jazz Festival is a non-competitive sharing of music between instrumental jazz ensembles is open to all college, high school and middle school jazz bands.. However groups will be adjudicated (ratings by request) and given clinics. No awards will be made for ensemble performance. Ensembles will be given feedback in clinic form of approximately 20-25 minutes with an adjudicator following each performance. Central’s top jazz ensembles will perform at the end of the day with a guest artist during which outstanding musicians from the day will be recognized. Large ensembles should be comprised of at least 12 members with a maximum of 30 members. Groups smaller than 12 will be considered combos. There will be no combo division for this year's festival, however, combos may enter the festival and be adjudicated.

CWU Jazz is proud to announce Christine Jensen, 2021 Jazz Festival Guest Artist

Christine will give a clinic to all festival participants as well as performing the final concert at the end of the day with CWU's top ensembles!

Montreal-based saxophonist and composer Christine Jensen has been described as, “an original voice on the international jazz scene… [and] one of Canada’s most compelling composers,” by Mark Miller of the Globe and Mail. According to Greg Buium of Downbeat Magazine, “Jensen writes in three dimensions, with a quiet kind of authority that makes the many elements cohere. Wayne Shorter, Maria Schneider and Kenny Wheeler come to mind.” After a performance at the 2006 Montreal International Jazz Festival, Scott Yanow wrote, “She’s rapidly developing into a major force … as a player and as a writer.”

Jensen is equally at home performing in small and large ensemble settings. Her latest opus, Treelines - The Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra on Justin-Time Records, won her the 2011 Juno Award for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year, along with Quebec’s Opus Award for jazz recording of the year. Downbeat magazine described it as“…a stunning orchestral debut… ****1/2 stars”. She recently performed at various jazz festivals across Canada as well as at Dizzy’s Jazz Club-Lincoln Center in New York with this ensemble. “Jensen’s formidable orchestra is the glistening sunlight, the tranquility and force of the ocean, and the majestic trees that her music imagines.”-Jazz Times 

2021 Clinicians

TBA

Entries

We welcome schools to bring multiple bands if desired. We are able to accommodate middle school, high school, and college groups. If your school is entering multiple ensembles, please complete a separate entry form for each. Due to the nature of the event, there is no need for divisions within the various bands levels and sizes. Groups will be evaluated against a standard, and be given feedback appropriately, regardless of size, age, or experience.

New For 2021

There will be a separate venue for middle school/junior high jazz bands and high school second bands. As the festival has grown, so have the number of younger bands attending. We wish to give them a venue specific to their needs, along with adjudicators experienced in that “level" of jazz education.

Schedule

A master time schedule and other information will be sent to all ensemble directors in mid April. Groups will be scheduled according to date of entry, performance time preference, and distance from the festival site. There is a limit on the number of applicants that can be accepted. The more quickly the entry is sent, the better.

Warm-Up

Each group will be limited to 25 minutes for warm-up in an assigned rehearsal room. This room will contain chairs, stands and a piano but no other equipment.

Equipment

The festival will provide the equipment listed below at each performance site:

• PA System with 3 solo mics, piano mic, bass direct to PA
• Acoustic Piano
• Bass Amp
• Guitar Amp
• Music Stands, Chairs
• Drum Set (NO cymbals)
  ***This means you will need to bring your own cymbals and stands***

Adjudication

During your group's performance, one adjudicator will write comments and another will provide a clinic following your performance in another room. Through a rotation of either writing or providing clinics, you and your students will get direct, constructive feedback concerning your performance.

Music

Each group will perform two or more selections within the 25-minute time limit. It is strongly suggested that all music be in the jazz style, and include a jazz ballad.

Recording

Each group will be provided a recording of your performance.

Location, Location, Location!

The will take place in the Jerilyn S. McIntyre Music Building. Completed in 2004, this facility boasts pristine acoustics, state-of-the-art recording and first-class surroundings. 

Check in & Time Estimates

Registration/check in on the days of the festival is in the Jerilyn S. McIntyre Music Building rotunda. The festival will start at approximately 8:30am and end at approximately 6:00 PM each day. 

Awards

Outstanding musicians will be recognized and given certificates.

Questions?

For more information, contact Festival Director Chris Bruya at 509-963-1426, or email christopher.bruya@cwu.edu