2011 Blaine Jazz Festival
Cool Music in a Cool Setting!

Register Online    More info on Scholarships    Meet the 2011 Faculty
Concert Schedule    Pacific Arts Assoc. homepage

Don't miss the chance to study with these internationally recognized faculty members!

Clipper Anderson, Bass
Nick Biello, Saxophone
Darin Clendernin, Piano
Mike Dahl, Coordinator/Piano/Trumpet
Ted DeCorso, Artistic Director, Clarinet, Saxophone
Ed Donohue, Trumpet
Randy Halberstadt, Piano
Larry Holloway, Bass
Greg Hopkins, Trumpet
Mark Ivester, Drums
David Keim
Kevin Krentz, Cello
Peter Krysa, Violin
Martin Kuuskmann, Bassoon
Andy Marshall, Jazz Choir
Greta Matassa, Vocal Jazz
Jon Mutchler, Jazz Piano & Theory
Jack Perla, Composer & Pianist
Christopher Woitach, Guitar

The Blaine Jazz Festival is presented by the Pacific Arts Association
and the City of Blaine, in cooperation with the Blaine School District.

Our Concert Series:
In addition to our formal educational program, the Blaine Jazz Festival features a series of concerts during the week.

10th Annual Blaine Jazz Festival
July 10-16, 2011

Six exciting days of music!!
Learn from the best! Play with the best! Bring out your best!

Click on this link to Vimeo.com to see a short video of last year's camp...

We have something for everyone. We have instrumental jazz, vocal jazz and instrumental "Fusion" (formerly known as Classics Plus) for all you string and woodwind players.

You'll have classes, rehearsals and performances with internationally known musicians from all over the world. The Student Showcase Concert on Friday evening puts you on stage with all students and faculty.

Instrumentalists will be placed in performance groups and classes based on their skill levels. The jazz bands will be playing big band arrangements that will most likely range from swing to Latin, blues, jazz-rock and other big band forms.

In addition to jazz bands, we have classes for beginners who cannot read music, and a course called Let's Rock in which rhythm section players work with our rhythm section faculty to develop excellent performance skills for their rock/jazz pieces in our final concert. Our jazz and rock groups are put together by our Artistic Director, Ted DeCorso (clarinet, saxophone), Director of the Sun Coast Symphony in the Tampa Bay, Florida, area.

Fusion (formerly Classics Plus)
Apply your classical training to jazz, rock and funk! Students who are classically oriented may elect our Fusion program (for strings, including electric bass, woodwinds and brass, keyboard, acoustic and electric guitar, and percussion). This program is headed up by world-renowned bassoonist, Martin Kuuskmann.

A typical schedule will have you doing your big group work in the mornings (Jazz Band I; Jazz Band II; Let's Rock; Fusion) with the afternoons devoted to instruction/practice in theory, improv and application in performance thru working in combos, jazz labs, and small groups. Vocal students have solo vocal work in the morning with choir work in the afternoon sessions. For more info on concerts during the week click on "Concert Schedule" above.

**Note: It is possible to participate in both instrumental and vocal work. You would do your large group/band in the morning, and the jazz choir in the afternoon. It is also possible to participate in both Jazz and Fusion groups (schedule to be determined when camp begins).

Private Lessons are also available at $25/per half hour and are given from 4:00-5:30pm.

Registration...

Tuition Fees: $300. Registration runs through June.

Housing and meals fees for out of town students: $350.

Mentor Program (Ages 18 to 23) internships click here.

More Info on Optional Private Lessons: $25./half hour with a maximum of two lessons per student per instructor, based on a first come/first served basis. Private lessons in voice are also available for vocal students at the same rate. We have a NEW system for assigning lessons due to increased demand. Lesson times will be assigned during registration on a space available basis and you'll be given the opportunity to sign up based on when you sent in your registration. So register early for best consideration.

TO REGISTER online, go to our secure online order form. Fill in the information, and pay for tuition and (optional) room and board by Visa or MasterCard or fill in the information and mail in your check. Online, make a note that your check is in the mail. Register NOW to ensure a place in desired classes and the option of taking private lessons. A few students may be added after June 30 until July 4 if room allows, but spots for some instruments fill up early. We also have limited dorm space available. For assistance registering online or questions about specific classes, phone Suzanne or Larry at the Pacific Arts Association office at (360) 820-8312.

A secure, supervised and structured environment for students

Every year at the conclusion of the festival we have our students fill out an evaluation of our program. Consistently the dorm kids tell us one of the most fun aspects of the Blaine Jazz Festival is staying at Smuggler's Inn, a professional Bed and Breakfast with a newly remodeled dorm for students adjacent to the main house. Students often jam together in the evening, and they form friendships lasting many years.

Students are chaperoned by counselors carefully selected for their training and experience in working with kids and music. Steve Barnes, head counselor, is a graduate of Western Washington University and holds a degree in Music Education. He is a popular choir director in the Bellingham School District, and recently served as assistant vocal coach in the wildly successful production of Les Miserables. In addition to counselors, we have mentors staying at the dorm--older students with formal college training in music and good recommendations from teachers for their skills and helpful attitude exhibited towards other students.

Students are supervised at all times, with meals provided at the dorm and/or in local restaurants. During lunch, they enjoy a packed meal while listening to concerts, and every evening they attend a concert or planned social activity. They are transported to and from classes and concerts by a bus driver who is an physician and grandfather of nine. The Producer and Artistic Director have over twenty years of experience working with teens in the arts.

Drugs, alcohol, and smoking are not permitted, and all students understand any violation will result in immediate dismissal from the camp.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any specific concerns regarding your child's health.