Founded in 1997, Litchfield Jazz Camp™ now serves 70-150 residential and day students each week for 1 to 4 week sessions on the campus of The Frederick Gunn School, an independent boarding and day school in Washington, Connecticut. Students enjoy lots of listening and performance opportunities at Litchfield Jazz Camp, attending Faculty concerts and jams nightly, and student combo concerts wrap up each week.
Run by Litchfield Performing Arts, a charitable organization dedicated to changing lives through music, the Camp's philosophy is simple. We start with a faculty of amazing and inspiring jazz musicians. To that we add eager music students in a non-competitive program. Litchfield Jazz Camp™ embraces all learners - students 13 years to adult, beginners, intermediate and advanced players, students with learning disabilities, and others. That is how the collaborative, supportive and fun atmosphere at Litchfield Jazz Camp™ is created. Find out for yourself!
Money is never a bar to participation. LJC accepts over 25% of its student body on need-based scholarships every year. Students are taught in skill-based combos and have extensive opportunities to perform for each other and the public at the end of each session and at the award-winning Litchfield Jazz Festival. They experience the music of their master teachers in the evenings and jam themselves each night.
An important part of the Litchfield experience is attendance at the 3-day Litchfield Jazz Festival in Goshen, CT. There campers hear festival stars, perform themselves on a dedicated second stage, and meet artists in person. This makes for a thrilling wrap up to one of the most exciting music education experiences available anywhere. Understanding the whole person is the ultimate point of any right- thinking program, health and stamina are encouraged with optional sports in the afternoons. Most students are college-bound, and to support that the camp holds a college night each season with representatives of a wide array of university level music programs. This group includes scouts who often offer our need-scholarship students opportunities at their schools.
Many of our campers attend every summer throughout their teens, allowing for the camp to make major impact on their skills and their emotional and personal development. Our Residential Assistant and Teaching Assistant ranks are peopled by former campers. Many of these in the fullness of time appear on the Litchfield Jazz Festival mainstage as sidemen and even leaders. Our surveys of former campers show that Litchfield’s participants continue their education at college and beyond. About half take academic degrees and half music. At least half garner scholarships. Many go on to win prestigious music awards (Monk and Downbeat Competition winners and more).
