The Sacramento State Winter Jazz Festival, held on the Sacramento State campus, is open to Elementary School, Middle School, High School, and Colleges. The Festival includes jazz bands, vocal jazz ensembles, and jazz combos, and is a non-competitive, educational event with no scoring, no ranking of ensembles, and no awards or trophies involved.

Festival Format

Each group will spend 45 minutes with a single clinician. Clinicians will critique your prepared charts with the option of spending a portion of the clinic teaching your group a jazz composition totally by ear, focusing upon aural training and improvisation. If you have nothing prepared to bring to The Winter Jazz Festival, you can have your clinician introduce your ensemble to a selection of your choice (bring scores and parts with you) or spend your entire session on aural training and improvisation.

Registration Information

Online registration for the Sacramento State Winter Jazz Festival will continue until November 1, or until we fill up. Registration fees are $350 for the first ensemble per school and $300 for each additional ensemble, and are due two weeks after the application is submitted online.

REGISTER ONLINE

Registration fee checks should be made out to: Sacramento State Jazz Club and mailed to:

Sacramento State School of Music
ATTN: Gaw Vang Williams
6000 J Street • MS 6015
Sacramento, CA 95819

Schedule and Tickets

General admission to the Jazz Festival for the public is $15 and is valid all day. Tickets will be sold onsite (as wristbands, cash or check only) at Capistrano Hall and the University Union. Don't miss the closing concert in the University Ballroom at 7:00pm, featuring the Sac State Jazz Ensemble with guest artist TBD.

Director's Info

Dear Directors,

Thank you for joining us for the annual Sacramento State Winter Jazz Festival on Saturday, December 6th, 2025. We look forward to hosting you and your students! Please review the links below for essential festival information:

• DIRECTOR’S LETTER (to be updated in November)
• SETLIST & SOLO PERSONNEL SHEET (to be updated in November) - Complete and print one sheet per ensemble and bring it to your performance room for the clinician.

Festival wristbands for directors and student performers will be available in the Capistrano Hall lobby. General admission for all performances and concerts is $15 (cash or check only). Please share this information with parents, family, and friends; wristbands are required even if they are attending only one performance.

NOTE INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS - All schools attending the event will need to have a Certificate of Liability and Endorsement with SAM (Sexual Abuse and Molestation) Insurance. We have attached the language needed on the documents and attached samples of the documents for your reference.

Insurance Requirements | Language and Endorsement

If you have any questions about the schedules or festival logistics, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’ll see youat the Festival!

Gaw Vang-Williams | Email