Band Camp
Band Camp: Readies students for Jazz Festival
Dear Educators, Administrators, and Music Students,
We still have space and would love to have more participants in the 2023 Vacaville Jazz Festival Youth Program! PLEASE share!
This is an amazing opportunity that is truly not to be missed. The opportunity to work with and perform with the world-renowned jazz vocalist and educator Tiffany Austin as well as the USAF Air Force Commanders Jazz ensemble will provide students with skills that will deepen their understanding of the art form that is jazz.
Beginning on August 30, 2023 the All-Volunteer Vaca Jazz Society will once again offer music students in grades 7-12 a FREE opportunity to learn about jazz, improvisation, jazz theory and perform with the USAF Air Force Band of the Golden West “Commanders Jazz Ensemble” as well as local professional musicians.
This year is going to be special, as the world-renowned jazz vocalist, composer and educator Tiffany Austin will be the primary clinician and featured performer. Please read her amazing bio at the bottom of this email!!
The schedule:
August 30, 2023 6:30-8:30 Vacaville High School (Rehearsal)
September 6, 2023 6:30 – 8:30 Vacaville High School (Rehearsal)
September 13, 2023 6:30- 8:30 Vacaville High School (Rehearsal)
September 17, 2023 at 6 pm at Journey Theater, Downtown Vacaville
with the AF Band(Concert)
If you have any questions, do not hesitate contacting me at vacajazzyouth@gmail.com or 707-803-1633.
I am attempting to contact all area band directors, teachers and students. As I have no doubt my email list is limited, if you would be willing to forward I would greatly appreciate it, as I don’t want any student to miss the opportunity!
Thank you and I am looking forward to another great year!
Mike Williams
Tiffany Austin is a vocalist, composer, educator, event producer, philanthropist and Berkeley Law Juris Doctor whose musical influences include
Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, Bessie Smith and John Coltrane.
She has performed with luminaries such as Pharoah Sanders, Roy Ayers, John Handy, Cyrus Chestnut, and Doug Carn. She’s performed on bandstands internationally including at both Birdland and Dizzy’s Den in NYC, Walt Disney Concert Hall in her native Los Angeles and the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco.
Beyond California, she has performed in Europe, Asia, and Australasia, as well as on nationally televised programming in the United States (NBA Finals Game 7, 2022).
“Nothing But Soul”, Austin’s debut album from 2015, garnered attention from NPR’s “Fresh Air” program and Downbeat magazine for its bold recasting of Hoagy Carmichael standards. Her 2018 sophomore album, “Unbroken”, was hailed by All About Jazz as a “fully formed masterpiece”, received a 4 star Downbeat review, and reached #16 on jazz radio charts.
Austin has also written commissions for the Oakland Symphony, San Jose Jazz, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and Healdsburg Jazz. Her community efforts include teaching at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts in Richmond, CA, guest speaking at activist events, and the 2021 launch of her Con Alma Music Creative Intellect scholarship fund for BIPOC high school musicians who excel in the areas of leadership, community service, academics, and musical artistry.
She is a guest educator at series sponsored by SFJAZZ, Stanford Jazz Workshop, and local school districts, and is currently Musical Director of the Healdsburg Jazz Festival Community Choir. Most recently, she became Artistic Director of the Albany, CA Juneteenth Celebration (2022), and has taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s “Roots, Jazz and American Music” program.
In summer 2023, Austin will launch a new music salon series: “The Diaspora Sessions”, an immersive Black art experience combining music, dance, and visual art in an interactive context. Her vision is to build spaces and opportunities for communities to exchange ideas, connect, and create.