The prize-winning Central New York Jazz Orchestra is an all-star regional “big band” comprised of the region’s finest jazz musicians.
Founded in 1996 and now led by internationally acclaimed Music Director Bret Zvacek, it performs a season of concerts featuring the world’s finest guest soloists, a full schedule of regional concerts, and day residencies in schools across Upstate New York.
Its formation in 1996 has made it possible for Syracuse to lay claim to a regional not-for-profit jazz orchestra. Few cities this size can boast this accomplishment.
Its debut recording– “Then, Now & Again”— received high accolades and heavy international airplay, reaching #56 on the Jazzweek charts.
The CNYJO is the flagship program of the CNY Jazz Arts Foundation, whose mission is to positively affect the quality of life in the region by preserving, supporting, and advancing the art form of jazz by presenting events in concert, cabaret, festival, and educational settings.
CNY Jazz is the largest jazz presenter in public and in schools in Upstate New York, drawing a total audience of over 50,000 to its more than 150 annual events, including the Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival, the Jazz in the City neighborhood outreach concert series, the SummerJazz Workshop, Cabaret Series, Jazz On Tap, Jazz Vespers, , and year-round presentations of all kinds in Jazz Central, its jazz arts and education center in downtown Syracuse, which houses a theater that presents shows in all arts disciplines year-round.
For more information on the organization’s activities, call Executive Director Larry Luttinger at 315-479-5299 or visit http://www.cnyjazz.org and http://www.nejazzwinefest.org
This is amazing!!!!