Follow us on Instagram!
56th Marshall University Winter Jazz Festival, Feb. 26 – 28, 2025
Featuring Guest Artist David Smith, A Joan C. Edwards Distinguished Professor in the Arts
David Smith is a sought-after trumpet player based in New York City. He has released three albums featuring his original compositions for Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records and Fresh Sound New Talent (Impetus, Anticipation, and Circumstance) and has appeared as a sideman on over sixty recordings, including on the 2020 Grammy-winning album Four Questions from Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Alan Ferber’s Grammy-nominated March Sublime and other albums, with Harry Connick, Jr., Glen Hansard, Jon Gordon, Manuel Valera, Tom Jones and many others. You can read all about David here: https://www.davesmithtrumpet.com/
2025 MU Winter Jazz Festival Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 26
7:30 p.m.
- Morehead State University Jazz Ensemble
- Jewel City Jazz Orchestra
Thursday, Feb. 27
9:30 a.m. – Barboursville Middle School
10:00 a.m. – Chesapeake High School
10:30 a.m. – Hannan Junior/Senior High School
11:00 a.m. – Blennerhassett Middle School
Break
11:30 a.m. – Open rehearsal with the MU Jazz Ensemble I and David Smith
1:00 p.m. – Open masterclass with David Smith (Smith Recital Hall)
Break
2:30 p.m. – Ravenswood Middle/High School
3:00 p.m. – Tyler Consolidated Middle School
3:30 p.m. – Glenwood School
Break
6:00 p.m.
- MU Jazz Combo I
- David Smith Quartet
Friday, Feb. 28
9:30 a.m. – Spring Valley High School (blue)
10:00 a.m. – Winfield Middle School
10:30 a.m. – Spring Valley High School (silver)
11:00 a.m. – Hurricane Middle School
Break
11:30 a.m. – Open rehearsal with the MU Jazz Ensemble I and David Smith
1:00 p.m. – Open masterclass with David Smith (Smith Recital Hall)
Break
2:30 p.m. – Point Pleasant Junior/Senior High School
3:00 p.m. – Parkersburg South High School (white)
3:30 p.m. – Parkersburg High School
4:00 p.m. – Parkersburg South High School (blue)
Break
6:00 p.m.
- Thundering Herd All-Star Jazz Ensemble
- MU Jazz Ensemble I, Featuring David Smith
About the MU Jazz Studies Program
The Marshall University Jazz Studies Program offers students two comprehensive degree programs in jazz studies at the undergraduate (BFA) and graduate levels (MA). These two degree offerings are exclusive to MU in the state of WV.
The MU Jazz Studies Program is firmly rooted in the jazz tradition, while also forward-looking in preparing students for the realities of the modern musician. Marshall’s commitment to this philosophy begins with the Jomie Jazz Center, one of only a handful of jazz studies programs in the country to be housed in its own facility dedicated to the study of jazz. This facility includes classrooms, practice rooms, a small club-like performance space, as well as a state of the art recording studio, which is also the primary rehearsal space for the various MU Jazz Ensembles.
Two large jazz ensembles, various jazz combos, as well as a popular music ensemble (The MU Soul Stampede) offer students a multitude of jazz and commercial music performance experiences. These ensembles are incredibly active, including local, regional, and international performances, highlighted by an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Finally, MU is host to one of the longest running collegiate jazz festivals in the US at 55 years and counting. The guest artists throughout the years read like a “dream team” of jazz luminaries. Also, the program hosts its annual Jazz-MU-Tazz Summer Jazz Camp each June for aspiring secondary school jazz musicians. For more information regarding jazz studies at Marshall University, please contact Prof. Jeff Wolfe, Director of Jazz Studies.
Join the MU Jazz Ensembles!
