2026 NDSU Jazz Festival
Thursday, February 5 and Friday, February 6
NDSU Festival Concert Hall
Join the NDSU Challey School of Music for the 43rd annual Jazz Festival!
The NDSU Challey School of Music invites high school and junior high jazz groups from across the region to perform in this non-competitive festival and receive coaching from professional jazz artists and educators. All guest artists hold jazz clinics throughout the day, then perform alongside NDSU jazz ensembles during a high-powered concert at 5:30 p.m. each evening in Festival Concert Hall.
Guest Clinicians
We're excited to welcome the following musicians as our clinicians for the 2026 NDSU Jazz Festival!
-
Vern Sielert, trumpet
- Professor of Trumpet and Director of Jazz Studies at Idaho University
-
Aric Schneller, trombone
- Director of Jazz Studies at Sam Houston State University
-
Dustin Rietzlaff, bass
- Director of Jazz Studies at University of Minnesota-Morris
Registration
To register for the 2026 Jazz Festival, please fill out the registration form below by December 22, 2025. The fee for each group is $250, which includes 30 minutes of performance and clinic time, as well as recorded comments from our clinicians.
Bands will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis after registration payment is received. Please note that you will need to provide a school/director bio and student roster for each band to include in our program.
Complete the following steps to be fully registered for the Jazz Festival:
1. Fill out the registration form by December 22, 2025.
2. Upload your director and/or group bio and student roster by January 9, 2026.
3. Mail your payment no later than January 31, 2026 to the following address:
NDSU Challey School of Music
Attn: Jazz Festival
PO Box 6050
Dept. 2540
Fargo, ND 58108-6050
Sponsors
Thank you to the following businesses for supporting the NDSU Jazz Festival!
- The Radisson Blu Hotel – Fargo
- International Music Camp
- Schmitt Music
- Eckroth Music
- Popplers Music