California Jazz Conservatory

Berkeley Jazzschool—the only comprehensive music school dedicated to the study and performance of America’s indigenous art form, jazz—annually serves more than 500 instrumentalists and vocalists of all ages and experience levels. The organization provides a post-secondary degree program, the Jazzschool Institute, as well as community classes, both of which are taught by world-class music educators and musicians. During the grant period, the Jazzschool plans to complete its post-secondary accreditation process, finish the second half of a capital campaign to retire debts associated with improvements to its building, and increase earned revenue through targeted marketing of the Jazzschool Institute.

California Jazz Conservatory (formerly Berkeley Jazzschool) is a comprehensive education institution committed solely to the study and practice of jazz, providing instruction to more than 2,500 community members each year. Comprising two distinct education programs, the Conservatory offers a post-secondary degree program with students studying with world-class instructors; and the Jazzschool Community Music School—which provides year-round, non-degree earning short-term workshops, artist-in-residence programs, and public performances to develop practical skills and nurture the artistic voices of aspiring musicians of all ages and levels. During the grant period, California Jazz Conservatory intends to expand enrollment in its degree program to eighty students, with the approval for federal student aid and F-1 student visas. Likewise, the organization plans to expand its facilities with the renovation of an additional site.