One part of CNY Jazz's mission is to present the art form of jazz to as wide a public as possible. To this end, we have developed a comprehensive and growing range professional and scholastic performance programs:

Northeast Jazz and Wine Festival, a three-day event held during the last weekend in July in Clinton Square, Hanover Square, and other locations throughout downtown Syracuse. It includes three outdoor stages, strolling musicians, on-stage master classes, clinics with student groups by guest artists, and downtown nightclub jams mixing touring musicians with local and regional talent.

Jazz in the City Neighborhood Outreach Concert Series, featuring national and local jazz artists of color at underutilized city park locations in lower-income neighborhoods of the city. Talented students recruited from the Syracuse City Schools are given the opportunity to perform onstage with these professionals.

Blue Rain ECOfest, the only family-oriented green festival in Central New York and showcase for sustainable companies and organizations, as well as local music and dance acts. Blue Rain ECOfest joins Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival and the Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival as part of Syracuse Artsweek in the last weekend in July.

CNY Jazz Orchestra Cabaret Series in the Sheraton Syracuse University, featuring the CNY Jazz Orchestra along with the finest nationally recognized guest artists, who also conduct educational clinics while in residence. Includes the Black History Month Cabaret and the Jimmy Van Heusen Cabaret.

Performances in the schools administered by CNY Jazz Management, an arts-in-education program design and implemented by an agency within our organization, providing performances supporting school districts and educational presenters across the state.

Scholastic Jazz Jam Series, at which local high school and college students are invited to perform in a supportive environment backed by professional musicians, including a special vocal jazz jam and evening cabaret.

SummerJazz Workshop (“Jazz At The Fair”), a one-week student improv program-in-residence at the Arts and Home Center at the NY State Fairgrounds, features a combo-based daily curriculum of small ensemble coaching, student jams, master classes, professional performances, and a residency by a nationally known artist-educator who performs with all the students in a grand finale evening performance. The students also perform a day-long youth jazz festival at the NYS Fair each August.

Stan Colella Parks and Recreation All-Star Big Band, a paying summer job for 17 students exclusively from the Syracuse City School District. This orchestra plays 55 to 60 concerts at important city events, nursing homes, schools, parks, and public places throughout the urban area. In partnership with the City of Syracuse, the CNYJAF provides auditions, instruction, music directorship, and performance opportunities at the Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival. CNY Jazz provides a home base for its “youth orchestra” at Jazz Central in downtown Syracuse.

Summer Festival Concerts held throughout the extended Central New York region in free, open-to-the-public venues, including the Candlelight Series, Rochester International Jazz Festival, and other regional locations.

Jazz Vespers Series held at Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church in Dewitt, NY. The services are a combination of inspirational and meditative readings, homily, and jazz played by members of the CNY Jazz Orchestra and various guest vocalists. The jazz selections are drawn from secular and sacred sources, representing a wide range of composers as varied as Duke Ellington, Chick Corea, Cole Porter, and Stephen Foster, and well-known hymns in jazz settings. They are free and open to those of all faiths.