The First Annual Disney Jazz Celebration Festival

Disney Jazz Celebration Festival
Disney World
Orlando, Florida
February 19-21, 2009

Billed as a celebration of jazz music Disney Style, Disney World has joined the ranks of major entertainment venues that is now promoting jazz to younger audiences when it launched the first annual Disney Jazz Celebration Festival. Developed as part of its Disney Youth Programs, the festival provided an exciting mix of education, live concerts and just plain old fun to students of participating middle and high school vocal and instrumental ensembles from all over the country through workshops, clinics and performances with top jazz artists. The primary focus, of course, was education with the opportunity to learn from world- famous jazz educators and artists. In addition, the student jazz bands were also evaluated by renowned collegiate adjudicators who critiqued performances, imparted knowledge and graded overall performances by the groups. Disney Jazz Celebration is supported in part by Conn-Selmer, Inc., a leading manufacturer, distributor and supplier of concert and orchestral musical instruments that also outfits Disney's fifty bands.


This first-ever jazz series drew the interest of jazz luminaries like saxophonist and band leader Bob Mintzer, drummer and educator Steve Fidyk, legendary trombonist and band leader Jiggs Whigham, and vocalist/ multi-instrumentalist Laura "Lolly" Allen among others. Helping to kick off the inaugural Disney Jazz Celebration on Thursday evening, February 19th, was a performance from internationally-acclaimed jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval. An educator himself as a tenured professor at Florida International University, Sandoval was the featured guest that evening as he helped to introduce the many musician-educators who would be serving as adjudicators as well as the jazz artists assuming the role of clinicians.
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