NAU Jazz Festival 2025
February 21-22, 2025
The 63rd annual NAU Jazz Festival will feature world-class guest artists, clinicians, NAU faculty masterclasses, and many talented participating bands from throughout the region. The festival is a non-competitive forum where high school and junior high bands perform for a panel of esteemed adjudicators, receiving ratings, comments, recordings, and clinics.
There will be NAU faculty masterclasses, performances, and clinics offered throughout the festival in addition to our featured Guest Artist Concert on Friday, February 21st at 8pm in Ardrey Memorial Auditorium.
The NAU Jazz Festival is an ABODA sanctioned festival for middle school, high school, and community colleges. Our festival is a non-competitive setting, focused on a positive performance and educational experience. Big bands and combos perform for three adjudicators to receive ratings and comments. Following the performances each group participates in a clinic with one of our esteemed adjudicator/clinicians. Directors will receive written comments as well as recordings of both their band’s performance and adjudicator comments.
We are thrilled to announce our 2025 featured guest artist: internationally renowned trumpet player and recording artist, Wayne Bergeron. Wayne enjoys a career as one of the most sought-after musicians in the world. Studio sessions, film dates, international touring, jazz concerts, guest appearances, and clinics keep him busy not only in his hometown of Los Angeles but worldwide.
As a sideman, Bergeron’s list of recording credits reads like a “who’s who” in contemporary jazz and pop, running the stylistic gamut from Ray Charles to Green Day. He has worked on over 500 TV & motion picture soundtracks and has played lead trumpet in many of the industry’s most respected big bands including Gordon Goodwin, Arturo Sandoval, Pat Williams, Sammy Nestico, Jack Sheldon, Chris Walden, Tom Kubis, John La Barbara, Bob Florence, Joey Sellers, Ray Anthony, Bill Watrous, Bob Curnow, and Quincy Jones
Wayne Bergeron will present a general masterclass on Friday, February 21st at 1:00pm in Ardrey Memorial Auditorium. Our Guest Artist Concert will also be Friday, February 21st. at 8pm featuring Wayne Bergeron with NAU Jazz Ensemble One. Tickets will be available starting in early January through the NAU Central Ticket Office at (888) 520-7214 and at nau.edu/cto
Daytime activities including school band performances, NAU faculty masterclasses, and more are free and open to the public. A detailed schedule will be posted as the festival approaches.
Registration forms are available here for download. Please submit your form and payment by the due date of Friday, January 31st, 2025. Please Note: Bands of any level may register for either day of the festival. Groups will be scheduled on a first-come-first-served basis. Specific scheduling requests will be accommodated as possible but cannot be guaranteed.