San Diego Youth Jazz Orchestra was created in 2022 and inspired by the COVID pandemic.
So many awful experiences happened during this period in history but at the same time came resilience and positive determination, especially from
certain students. As a music director for a public school and private music teacher, I've witnessed first hand how so many students were depressed because music was no longer like it used to be.
In 2022, after a spring jazz concert, a former 8th grade jazz student was in the audience & then sent me an email about how much he missed our music classes.
That 2020 class missed all our jazz performances. After giving it some thought I thought of a reunion with that group who were now sophomores in high school.
To my surprise they all returned for a final concert along with my current middle school groups. It was epic!
Their passion is what inspired the idea of an extra dose of jazz music. After much consulting with several outstanding musicians in the industry throughout the country,
I legally formed the San Diego Youth Jazz Orchestra, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. In 2023 the San Diego Youth Mariachi was added.
Both groups feature students from every city in San Diego County from middle up to high school.