NJPAC Opens Registration for TD JAZZ FOR TEENS 2026-27 Season
The Newark program is led by GRAMMY-winning saxophonist Mark Gross and features guest artist Christian McBride.
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center will celebrate 29 years of nurturing young musicians through its TD Jazz for Teens program, which has provided jazz education and performance opportunities to thousands of high school students from Newark and beyond. One of NJPAC's earliest arts education initiatives, the program has grown into a nationally recognized training ground for emerging jazz artists, producing distinguished alumni including MacArthur "Genius" Fellow Tyshawn Sorey.
TD Jazz for Teens is a comprehensive, sequential jazz education program that provides students with rigorous musical instruction from world-class professional artists, opportunities for artistic collaboration, and guidance in exploring college and career pathways in music.
This year's curriculum includes jazz history, theory and composition, instrumental technique, small and large ensembles, music business, production, improvisation, and more. Students preparing for college receive personalized guidance throughout the application process.
Participants also perform regularly as members of the James Moody Jazz Orchestra and the George Wein Scholars Ensemble, which has appeared at the prestigious Newport Jazz Festival. Every student has the opportunity to compose and professionally record original music in a studio setting, while regular field trips to Rutgers University-Newark's renowned Institute of Jazz Studies-the world's largest archive of jazz-related materials-provide an unparalleled connection to the music's rich history.
Since 2015, Mark Gross has led TD Jazz for Teens as NJPAC's Director of Jazz Instruction. A multiple GRAMMY Award-winning alto saxophonist and composer, Gross has performed and recorded with jazz legends including Dizzy Gillespie, Buster Williams, Nat Adderley, Dave Holland, and Wynton Marsalis.
Under Gross's leadership, students study with an outstanding faculty of more than a dozen accomplished working musicians, including guitarist Alex Wintz, himself a TD Jazz for Teens alumnus; acclaimed saxophonist Jason Marshall; drummer John Iannuzzi; and legendary Russian-born trumpeter and former Jazz Messenger Valery Ponomarev. Throughout the year, students also work directly with internationally celebrated guest artists through exclusive master classes, including nine-time GRAMMY Award-winning bassist Christian McBride, NJPAC's Jazz Advisor; acclaimed vibraphonist Stefon Harris; and MacArthur "Genius" Fellow and Doris Duke Artist Regina Carter. For more information: www.njpac.org/education
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