Welcome to the Reno Jazz Festival
Since the festival’s
inception in 1962, both it and its sponsor, the University of Nevada, Reno,
have grown in size and stature. Indeed, the Reno Jazz Festival now ranks
as one of the largest and most vibrant of its kind in the nation, attracting
more than 9,000 participants and guests in 2009. The University has also
seen dramatic growth and students now number nearly 17,000.
Enrollment in arts courses has also risen dramatically in recent years. In response, the University established a School of the Arts. Comprised of six long-established programs — Black Rock Press, Dance, Music, Speech Communication, Theatre and Visual Arts — the school boasts an outstanding faculty of artists, scholars and teachers, and affirms and celebrates the vitality of the arts at the University and throughout the region. Our mission statement, “inspiring educational excellence, creativity and collaboration,” proclaims why we’re here and what we do.
We are particularly proud of our vibrant program in Jazz and Improvisational Music and it’s director Peter Epstein. Peter spent many years performing and recording in New York and beyond and is an accomplished saxophonist and an inspired educator. Under his leadership, great things have been happening in our Jazz and Improvisational Music program.
The Reno Jazz Festival promises once again to bring together some of the finest jazz students, musicians and educators in the United States. Thanks to all those who once again have offered to cosponsor this event, especially Maytan Music Center, Nevada Arts Council, City of Reno, Pearl, Sabian, Roland, and Extended Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. I look forward to seeing you in April.
Larry M. Engstrom
Director, School of the Arts
Director, Reno Jazz Festival
University of Nevada, Reno
