Stanford Jazz Workshop Summer Programs

Stanford Jazz Workshop Summer Programs introduce jazz styles through hands-on learning that includes improvisation, ensemble playing, daily master classes, small ensemble rehearsals, classes, jam sessions, and nightly concerts. Participants study with acclaimed artists, perform in small combos, and experience nightly performances at the Stanford Jazz Festival. The programs also include additional ensemble work, evening jam sessions, and master classes with visiting jazz masters, where students refine technique and perform alongside top young musicians while learning directly from renowned jazz artists and educators.

• Ages: 11–18 years old
• Schedule: One-week programs run July 6–10, July 12–17, July 19–24, and July 26–31; two-week programs run July 6–17, July 12–24, and July 19–31; the Giant Steps Two-Week Program has no instruction on Saturday, July 11.

Stanford Jazz Workshop is a nonprofit organization dedicated to jazz education and appreciation. Founded in 1972, it has for more than five decades brought together leading jazz performers and educators with students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. SJW brings together the world’s leading jazz performers and educators, and its faculty has included artists such as Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Ray Brown, Jimmy Cobb, Slide Hampton, Mulgrew Miller, Branford Marsalis, Sheila Jordan, and Geri Allen, with Roy McCurdy noted as a devoted teacher on the faculty of the Thornton School of Music at USC and the Pasadena School of Music. Programs for middle school through high school musicians are available, with both residential and commuter options, and the Jazz Institute is open to adults. Summer jazz immersion programs take place alongside the Stanford Jazz Festival, which presents weeks of world-class performances each summer, and the same artists who teach in the programs perform at the festival. Special events like Jazz Girls Day celebrate inclusivity and create new pathways into the jazz community. Stanford Jazz Workshop is a small, independent nonprofit, and its summer programs include the Giant Steps Two-Week Program, the Jazz Camp Two-Week Program, and the Advanced Two-Week Program, which combine different weeks of Giant Steps Day Camp, Jazz Camp, and Jazz Institute. “The Stanford Jazz Workshop’s summer festival ranks among the best,” according to San Francisco Magazine.

Last updated March 12, 2026.