About Teagarden Jazz Camp
The Teagarden Jazz Camp is held annually at Sly Park Environmental Education Center in the beautiful El Dorado National Forest, just east of Placerville. Students ages 12 through 20 experience the full summer camp experience while simultaneously immersing themselves in the world of early jazz and improvisation, in collaboration with some of the best professional musicians in the business. The camp provides a full staff of trained counselors who meet all campers' needs.
Each six-day week of camp includes dormitory style rooms and all meals, plus one-on-one and ensemble instruction with a strong emphasis on improvisation. Campers are organized into combos and perform each night at camp, plus a special end-of-camp performance for family and friends in Sacramento
Auditions are not required - join us in 2024 and have the most fun you will ever have at a music camp!.
Payment plans are available and some jazz societies offer local scholarships for players. Contact us for more information.
Camp Information
Campers stay in dormitory style cabins, and eat in a central dining hall. Special dietary needs can be met with advance notice, and vegetarian/vegan meals are always available.
Each rehearsal/performance site is equipped with a piano, a guitar amp, a bass amp and a drum set. Drummers need to bring their own cymbals, sticks, brushes and any other special equipment they wish. Two cymbal stands and one high-hat stand are provided. All other instrumentalists must bring their own instrument(s) unless prior arrangements have been made. Vocalists must bring a small recording device.
Campers from outside the local area should arrive in Sacramento before noon on the first day of camp. They will be met, and transported to camp by STJS volunteers. Arrange departures for the evening of the last day of camp, no earlier than 7pm. Local campers who choose to ride the bus should arrive at the Elks Lodge on Riverside Blvd. between noon and 1:00 p.m.
The camp concludes with a concert on the final day in Sacramento. Campers will be bused from the camp to the concert site, and at the conclusion of the performance, approximately 4:00pm, will either be picked up by parents/guardians, or transported to the airport, train, or bus station for travel home.
Tuition for 2024 is $825
Payment plans are available and some jazz societies offer local scholarships for players. Contact us for more information.
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Camp Faculty
Some of the Finest Trad Jazz Players in the Country (subject to change):
Chuck Bond, trumpet & cornet
Andrew Stephens, trumpet & cornet
Anita Thomas, clarinet & saxophones
Adrian Cunningham, clarinet & saxophones
Jacam Manricks, clarinet & saxophones
Greg Varlotta, trombone
Jason Wanner, piano
Curtis Brengle, piano
Sam Rocha, bass & tuba
Pete Agraan, drums
Tim Metz, drums
Shelley Burns, vocals
Nahum Zdybel, guitar & banjo
(subject to change)