Next Generation Jazz Orchestra

# Next Generation Jazz Orchestra Each year since 1971, the Monterey Jazz Festival has assembled the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, an all-star big band of the most accomplished high school jazz musicians from across the country. Directed by GRAMMY-nominated pianist and composer Gerald Clayton, the orchestra convenes in the summer and performs at the Monterey Jazz Festival itself - on the Jimmy Lyons Stage in the Arena, the same stage as the festival's headliners. ## What You'll Do - Audition by recording during the winter window; selections are made through a rigorous blind audition process reviewed by nationally renowned jazz educators - Rehearse intensively with Gerald Clayton and guest artists in the lead-up to the festival - Perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September alongside the festival's professional lineup - Join a 50-plus-year alumni line that includes many of today's leading jazz professionals ## Who Should Apply High school jazz instrumentalists and vocalists anywhere in the US playing big-band instruments at an advanced level. Auditions for each summer's orchestra open in the winter; the festival also fields a Next Generation Women in Jazz Combo for top high school women jazz players nationwide. Financial assistance is available, including partial reimbursement of travel costs to Monterey for students who qualify. ## Outcomes Membership is one of the most visible national honors available to a high school jazz musician: a mainstage festival credit, direction from a major recording artist, and a place in the lineage of one of the world's longest-running jazz festivals.