About Us

The brainchild of middle school band instructor Jeff Sandberg, Sr., the Wenatchee Jazz Workshop has been bringing great jazz to our schools and our valley since 2001. The workshop has grown from one professional jazz musician teaching students at one school, to six pros working with band students from schools in the Wenatchee and East Wenatchee school districts.

The workshop is very unique. The guest musicians don't just lecture or showcase their own talents. Rather, each pro works with a jazz band section from each school: saxophone, trumpet, trombone, keyboards, bass, percussion. All week long they sit among the students and play, teaching the language and emotion of jazz and preparing the bands for their performance at the end of the week. All students in each school jazz ensemble participate in the workshop. There is no "audition" required. 

The culmination of the workshop is Jazznights - two public concerts that give community members a chance to enjoy fantastic music and hear the great results of this one-of-a-kind educational program. 

The Wenatchee Jazz Workshop is a non-profit organization. It is organized by volunteers and funded by community donations, concert ticket sales, and major support from Wenatchee and Eastmont school districts.