2025 Festival Rules
High School Large Ensemble
- Each ensemble must have a minimum of 14 student musicians.
- Music selections, quantity of selections, and styles are all at the discretion of the directors, however there should be a clear jazz influence. It is not mandatory, however varied styles/selections are suggested. Our adjudicators want to see what you do well and how much you can do well! The only limitation is the 20 minutes of performance time allotted for each group.
- Ensembles in competitive divisions will be initially placed in divisions by school enrollment, A Large Instrumental High School Ensemble director can elect to compete in the new for 2025 “Arts Academy Division”. This is for schools that primarily have their large ensemble for daily rehearsals and wish to compete with large ensembles having similar programs. info@nationaljazzfestival.org
- Schools may enter more than one ensemble in the Small & Large Division category and each performing group will be placed in the appropriate division by school population. If a school registers more than one ensemble, those ensembles will be in the same division. Only one large ensemble per school can register in the new “Academy Division”. All Ensembles will be received in order of registration. For schools that have more than one ensemble and wish not to compete against their own school, they can choose to perform in the non-competitive division. Any ensemble is welcome to perform in the non-compete division. Contact us with questions before registering. info@nationaljazzfestival.org
- Each ensemble will have exactly 20 minutes of performance time. Each ensemble will be timed from the first note of their first performance selection until the final cut-off of their final performance selection. Ensembles may not “restart” their performance for any reason. Once the clock starts it will continue to run. The 20 minutes of performance time is finite. Any ensemble exceeding the 20-minute performance time will be automatically disqualified. A timing of 19:59 or 20:00 is acceptable, however a time of 20:01 is not. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR PERFORMANCE TIME.