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Winter Jazz Festival - December 12, 2026
The Sacramento State Winter Jazz Festival, held on the Sacramento State campus, is open to Elementary School, Middle School, High School, and Colleges. The Festival includes jazz bands, vocal jazz ensembles, and jazz combos, and is a non-competitive, educational event with no scoring, no ranking of ensembles, and no awards or trophies involved.
Festival Format
Each group will spend 45 minutes with a single clinician. Clinicians will critique your prepared charts with the option of spending a portion of the clinic teaching your group a jazz composition totally by ear, focusing upon aural training and improvisation. If you have nothing prepared to bring to The Winter Jazz Festival, you can have your clinician introduce your ensemble to a selection of your choice (bring scores and parts with you) or spend your entire session on aural training and improvisation.
Registration Information
Online registration for the Sacramento State Winter Jazz Festival will continue until November 1, or until we fill up. Registration fees are $350 for the first ensemble per school and $300 for each additional ensemble, and are due two weeks after the application is submitted online.
Registration fee checks should be made out to: Sacramento State Jazz Club and mailed to:
Sacramento State School of Music
ATTN: Gaw Vang Williams
6000 J Street • MS 6015
Sacramento, CA 95819
Schedule and Tickets
General admission to the Jazz Festival for the public is $15 and is valid all day. Tickets will be sold onsite (as wristbands, check or credit card only) at Capistrano Hall and the University Union. Don't miss the closing concert in the University Ballroom at 7:00pm, featuring the Sac State Jazz Ensemble with guest artist (TBA).
Driving and Parking Directions
Sac State uses virtual parking permits through a Sac State parking account. Parking is available for $5 for the day.
- If you don't have an account, click here to create a guest account. Once you finish, click the Purchase Parking link again and use the Guest Login
- If you have an account already but forgot your password, click here to reset your password.
Use the Purchase Parking link below, making sure to select the correct valid date ("effective" and "expiration" dates should be the same), to activate your visitor permit. Permits are valid for the whole day, up till 11:59pm. (if the above link below you to a login screen, use the Guest Login. If you only see an $10 permit option, exit that window and use the link below again). For help with parking please contact UTAPS at (916) 278-7275 or parking@csus.edu
Director's Info
Dear Directors,
Thank you for joining us for the annual Sacramento State Winter Jazz Festival on Saturday, December 6th, 2025. We look forward to hosting you and your students! Please review the links below for essential festival information:
- DIRECTOR’S LETTER (to be updated in November)
- SETLIST & SOLO PERSONNEL SHEET (to be updated in November) - Complete and print one sheet per ensemble and bring it to your performance room for the clinician.
Festival wristbands for directors and student performers will be available in the Capistrano Hall lobby. General admission for all performances and concerts is $15 (check or credirt card only). Please share this information with parents, family, and friends; wristbands are required even if they are attending only one performance.
If you have any questions about the schedules or festival logistics, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’ll see youat the Festival!
Gaw Vang-Williams | Email
