Wynton Marsalis, Director
Aaron Flagg, Chair and Associate Director
Anika Adilifu, Administrative and Production Manager
Alex Ball, Manager of Performance and Academic Operations
Laura Lizcano, Jazz Program Coordinator
Briana Antiri, Administrative Apprentice

Now in its 24th season, Juilliard Jazz offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees and the Artist Diploma. Juilliard Jazz alumni are Grammy-winning recording jazz artists, leaders of touring ensembles, members of major jazz ensembles, leading jazz educators, and musical directors, composers, orchestrators, and arrangers for film, stage, and television. They include bassists Russell Hall, Endea Owens, and Luke Sellick; drummers Sarah Gooch, Jerome Jennings, and TJ Reddick; pianists Jon Batiste, Kris Bowers, Aaron Diehl, and Micah Thomas; saxophonists Abdias Armenteros, Braxton Cook, Paul Nedzela, Alexa Tarantino, and Immanuel Wilkins; trumpeters Summer Camargo, Etienne Charles, Giveton Gelin, and Brandon Lee; trombonists Chris Crenshaw, Michael Dease, Marshall Gilkes, and Alba Pujals; guitarists Aayushi Karnick, Jake Kelberman, and Miles Okazaki; and vocalists Olivia Chindamo, Gillian Margot, and Ekep Nkwelle.

The curriculum combines classroom, private studio, and performance ensemble courses with substantial interactions with jazz masters as well as multiple recording and performance opportunities in diverse venues around the city and the world. The repertoire studied covers the entire jazz continuum, highlights its American vernacular roots, and emphasizes the social and cultural vitality of the music.

During the 2025–26 season, the Grammy-nominated Juilliard Jazz Orchestra will perform 11 concerts and Juilliard Jazz Ensembles will give 19 performances. The 57 students in Juilliard Jazz will also put on solo recitals and perform in concerts around the city at on- and off-campus venues including Alice Tully Hall, Blue Note Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club, and Juilliard’s Paul Recital Hall and Peter Jay Sharp Theater.

Juilliard Jazz students enjoy extraordinary opportunities to share their artistry around the U.S. and the world in person and via livestreams. Over the last several years, students have performed with the Albany and Princeton symphonies as well as the Juilliard Orchestra at festivals in Amsterdam, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Cod, the Cayman Islands, and Japan and in clubs in China, Italy, Mexico, and Switzerland. In addition to weekly rehearsals with Juilliard faculty, student ensembles worked with guest artists in ensemble rehearsals, studio classes, and residencies. Recent guests include Scotty Barnhart, Chris Botti, Jeff Hamilton, alum Jen Krupa, Joe Lovano, Carmen Lundy, José Madera, Nduduzo Makhathini, Arturo O’Farrill, Hermeto Pascoal, Chris Potter, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Janis Siegel, Don Vappie, and Corey Wilkes.

About Jazz Ensembles at Juilliard

Each of Juilliard Jazz’s small ensembles is named after a jazz legend. This does not mean the named ensemble will solely perform the works of that artist, but invoking these names reminds us, and our audience, of our music’s great history and its interconnectedness. In addition, ensemble coaches will incorporate important aspects of each artist’s work into their ensemble teaching throughout the year.

The named ensembles and their coaches: • Dave Brubeck Ensemble, in the spirit of integrating arts, coached by Ulysses Owens Jr. .• Betty Carter Ensemble, in the spirit of scatting, musical freedom, and reimagination, coached by Donald Vega • Dizzy Gillespie Ensemble, in the spirit of innovation, dance, Afro-Latin music, humor, and teaching, coached by Elio Villafranca • Jelly Roll Morton Ensemble, in the spirit of interpreting the original meanings of jazz, coached by Doug Wamble • Max Roach Ensemble, in the spirit of Civil Rights experimentation and understanding of the African Diaspora, coached by Isaiah J. Thompson • Mary Lou Williams Ensemble, in the spirit of stride piano, arranging, and intellectual discourse on music techniques and meaning, coached by Bruce Williams • Duke Ellington Ensemble (Artist Diploma Ensemble), in the spirit of being ambassadors to the world, coached by Ben Wolfe.

Duke Ellington Ensemble The Juilliard Jazz Duke Ellington Ensemble consists of the most experienced performance students in the program and is led by jazz double bassist/composer, Ben Wolfe. Named after Duke Ellington, the iconic jazz composer, pianist and bandleader, the ensemble’s artistic premise is to embrace jazz as an ensemble music, valuing group interaction and individuality as catalysts for creation in the spirit of community. The ensemble sound is informed by the jazz continuum and its own members’ contemporary influences and original compositions.