Experience Jazz is a genre-bridging music ensemble program for instrumentalists, vocalists, rappers, DJs and other aspiring musical artists. Launched in 2017 by Minnesota Jazz Education (formerly Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education), this innovative program is an incubator for middle and high school musicians to learn, play and compose new music together.

MacPhail’s elite Dakota Combo features some of the top high school talent in the state.  This group is an audition-based jazz combo made up of the region’s top high school jazz musicians. Additionally, musicians are offered scholarships for a year of serious extra-curricular jazz study and performance.

Inspired by the concept of community, the string ensemble of Walker West was created to perform works that reflect the cultural diversity of the string students and families in our program.  Kamoinge is a Kikuyu (Kenya) word meaning a group working together, unforced and unconstrained, to do good for the community.

When the artistry of vocalist Jennifer Grimm met the mastery of composer-arranger Adi Yeshaya, a new sound was born. Don’t miss this thirteen-piece jazz orchestra in a night of compositions and new arrangements of jazz and pop favorites. Composer, arranger and jazz pianist Adi Yeshaya was born and raised in Israel. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, […]

Jenny Klukken is a marimbist, composer, recording artist and educator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since studying percussion performance at the University of Minnesota, Jenny has developed her career as a crossover marimbist, performing and writing music in styles including Jazz, Pop, Americana, Hip Hop, Brazilian, and more. In 2018, she received an MRAC Next Step […]

Dorothy Doring is a seasoned Minnesota jazz vocalist. Doring’s professional singing career has developed over several decades producing three award winning jazz albums. Dorothy has past experience in everything from country to rock to blues and jazz. Dorothy adds the freedom of jazz improvisation plus the intimacy of cabaret into every performance. Dorothy Doring and […]