Youth Jazz Programs

Thank you for your interest in Jazz Arts Group’s (JAG) Youth Jazz Program.  The Jazz Arts Group is dedicated to advancing the art of jazz through performance and education.  Our youth jazz program fulfills this mission by providing the opportunity for students in grades 7 – 12 to participate in one of three outstanding ensembles.  Each ensemble rehearses weekly and offers a variety of performances and other educational activities each season.

Auditions for the 2009-10 Youth Jazz season will be held on September 12 and 13th, 2009.  Audition packets and applications will be available soon. 

Click here for the audition flyer and check back often for the audition packet and application.

Should you successfully audition for a position on one of JAG’s three ensembles, the following opportunities and expectations are available to participants and their families:

  • • The Jazz Arts Group supports music education in the schools and cooperates with the music education community – all Youth Jazz members are expected to be actively participating in their school music program(s)
  • • Youth Jazz participants must fully commit to the ensemble’s rehearsal and performance schedule
  • • Youth Jazz participants receive free admission to all CJO performances
  • • Youth Jazz participants will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of performance and educational activities and to work with prominent local, regional and national musicians


JAG’s Youth Jazz Program consists of the following ensembles:

Columbus Youth Jazz Workshop (CYJW)

  • • $60.00 per semester tuition, scholarships available
  • • audition required

The Columbus Youth Jazz Workshop is an all-star big band for students in grades 7-10. Often the first big band experience for young music students, the CYJW allows students to explore their individual skills within a supportive and relaxed ensemble environment. The Workshop is open to saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, guitar and drums. 

The CYJW rehearses on Sunday afternoons from 3:30-5:00pm at the Jazz Academy, 769 East Long Street in the Lincoln Theatre complex, and performs two to three concerts each year.  Small group opportunities are available as requested. 

Director: Mark Donavan
Mark Donavan is the band director at Wedgewood Middle School, Columbus City Schools, where he has been teaching for 10 years.  He is the director of the Columbus Youth Jazz Workshop which he founded in 2004.  Also a professional saxophonist and pianist, Mark performs weekly in various local ensembles and bands.

Columbus Youth Jazz Studio Ensemble (CYJSE)

  • • $80.00 per semester tuition, scholarships available
  • • Audition required

The Columbus Youth Jazz Studio Ensemble is for the student who wants to continue improving their individual skills within the context of a top level ensemble. This exciting ensemble emphasizes a broad exploration of jazz literature.  The Studio Ensemble is open to saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, guitar and drums. Students from this ensemble have often matriculated into the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra.

The Studio Ensemble rehearses on Sunday afternoons from 4:00-6:00pm at the Jazz Academy, 769 East Long Street in the Lincoln Theatre complex, and performs two to three concerts each year.  Small group opportunities are available as requested.    

Director: Kie Watkins
Kie Watkins received his Bachelors degree in Music Education and Masters in Educational Leadership from the Ohio State University (1994, 2003). He is currently completing his PhD in Music Education. Watkins is the Director of Bands at Grandview Heights High School as well as Dean of Students for grades 9-12.  Kie is an international endorsing artist for Conn-Selmer and plays exclusively on their instruments (52J and 2341 tubas and 100H, 112H and 88H trombones). Mr. Watkins performs regionally with a variety of ensembles and leads his own professional band, The New Orleans Funk Orchestra.

Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra(CYJO)

  • • $90.00 per semester tuition, scholarships available
  • • Audition required


The Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra provides opportunities for talented high school age musicians to further their experience in America's classical music -- jazz. Comprised of premier players in grades 9-12 from Central Ohio and beyond, the CYJO has a 30-week season during the school year, and performs at the Southern Theatre prior to each of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra's Sunday matinee concerts. The ensemble also accepts a limited number of additional performance opportunities throughout the year as the schedule allows.  The CYJO plays literature of the highest level with repertoire from the libraries of the great big bands, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Woody Herman, Oliver Nelson, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie. The CYJO is open to saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, guitar, drums, and vocals on a limited basis.

Rehearsals are on Sunday afternoons, 6:00 – 8:00pm, at the Jazz Academy, 769 East Long Street in the Lincoln Theatre complex.

Director: Todd Stoll
Todd Stoll has been a leading advocate in jazz education for more than 20 years. As a performer, bandleader, educator and archivist he has dedicated his career to expanding the awareness of jazz for students and the general public alike. Currently, Stoll hold the position of High School Music Curriculum Coordinator for Westerville City Schools and teaches both instrumental and vocal jazz ensembles. He is a past President of the Ohio IAJE and served as the first OMEA Jazz Events Coordinator. His ensembles have garnered numerous awards at festivals and competitions throughout the US and he holds the distinction of being the only director to have two separate bands selected as finalists for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s prestigious Essentially Ellington Competition. As founder and leader of the CYJO, Stoll has led the ensemble on several International tours in both Europe and South America, self-produced 6 CDs, and collaborated with many renowned jazz artists including, among others, Clark Terry, John Faddis, Jimmy Heath, Wess Warmdaddy Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis  and CJO Artistic Director Byron Stripling. He is a contributing editor to “Teaching Music through Performance in Jazz,” published by GIA and serves as a consultant to various Arts organizations including Jazz at Lincoln Center, CAPA, and the Jazz Management Group. His personal library of scores and music includes one of the largest collections of Duke Ellington literature in the Midwest.

Scholarship information, if requested, will be provided upon placement in one of the three ensembles.

Do you have additional questions?  Contact Carol Argiro, Director of Community Programs – Jazz Academy, at 614-294-5200 x 107 or cargiro@jazzartsgroup.org.