Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend
April 24-25, 2026
Honoring the Legacy of Jazz at Wesleyan
Founded in the spirit of artistic excellence and cultural exchange, the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend is one of the university’s most anticipated annual events. Each April, the Center for the Arts welcomes celebrated jazz artists and student ensembles to the stage, creating a vibrant space for community, creativity, and improvisation.
Saxophonist, composer, and scholar Bill Barron (1927–1989) started teaching as a faculty member at Wesleyan in 1975, bringing guest artists to perform on campus, and served as Chair of the Music Department. Barron also started the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra, giving students the opportunity to perform on the same stage as visiting jazz luminaries. The group has been directed by Professor of Music and African American Studies Jay Hoggard ’76, MA ’91 since 1991. Hoggard calls the creation of music a deep, cultural, spiritual, social practice.
“Wesleyan’s focus is music in the cultural context, with an awareness of historic, geopolitical, economic, and social factors that go into shaping the vocabulary," says Hoggard.
He has invited ensembles large and small to perform on campus. The African-American Music Program Weekend in 1992 included special guests flutist James Newton and bassist Mark Helias. A decade later, the first Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend in 2002 featured the Bobby Hutcherson Quartet.
Upcoming Events
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Cellist Akua Dixon makes her Connecticut debut with her string quartet, Quartette Indigo featuring violinists Meg Okura and Frederika Krier, Judith Insell on viola, and bassist Jennifer Vincent on Saturday, April 29, 2023.
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Vibraphonist and Professor of Music and African American Studies Jay Hoggard ’76, MA ’91 performs with Akua Dixon’s Quartette Indigo on Saturday, April 29, 2023.
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Trombonist Craig Harris and friends play the music of Sam Rivers on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Harris was joined by David Murray on tenor saxophone, Don Byron on clarinets, Jerome Jennings on drums, Alexis Marcelo on piano, and Jordyn Davis on bass.
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Trombonist Craig Harris and friends play the music of Sam Rivers on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Harris was joined by David Murray on tenor saxophone, Don Byron on clarinets, Jerome Jennings on drums, Alexis Marcelo on piano, and Jordyn Davis on bass.
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The Makanda Project performs on Saturday, April 23, 2022. Makanda Ken McIntyre (1931–2001) was on the faculty at Wesleyan from 1969 to 1971, where he was the first Professor of African American Music.
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The Makanda Project performs on Saturday, April 23, 2022. The company of dancer/choreographer Mickey Davidson, former Wesleyan Dance Artist in Residence for 17 years, was part of the group for this performance.
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Drummer Bobby Sanabria's ensemble Ascensión made their Connecticut debut on Saturday, April 26, 2025.
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Vibraphonist and Professor of Music and African American Studies Jay Hoggard ’76, MA ’91 performs with drummer Bobby Sanabria's ensemble on Saturday, April 26, 2025.
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Drummer T.S. Monk's sextet celebrated 100 years of Thelonious Monk on April 28, 2018. The bandleader has recorded numerous albums of his own compositions, as well as those of his father, pianist Thelonious Monk (1917-1982).
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T.S. Monk performing on April 28, 2018. He has charted his own course as a composer, arranger, and melodic drummer, including touring with his father, and co-founding the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz (now renamed after Herbie Hancock).
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Drummer T.S. Monk was joined by Theo Hill (piano), Willie Williams (tenor saxophone), Randall Haywood (trumpet), April May Webb (vocals), Patience Higgins (alto saxophone and flute), and Christopher Berger (bass) on April 28, 2018.
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Pianist/composer Jim McNeely's acclaimed ten-piece jazz ensemble performed a selection of music from their album "Group Therapy" during their New England debut on Saturday, April 27, 2019.
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Pianist/composer Jim McNeely's acclaimed ten-piece jazz ensemble performed a selection of music from their album "Group Therapy" during their New England debut on Saturday, April 27, 2019.
