The Concordia Vocal Jazz Festival is an annual event that features Concordia's three vocal jazz ensembles, engaging and effective clinicians, and vocal jazz ensembles from across the region. Past guest artists include säje, New York Voices, Jeremy Fox, Rosana Eckert, Justin Binek, Ryan Howe, Matt Falker, Alyssa Allgood, Tobi Crawford, and Jerry Rubino.
The 2026 Vocal Jazz Festival will be from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31. Each participating ensemble will have an on-stage performance/clinic with members of New York Voices, Tommy Boynton, and Liz Townsend. The evening before, on Jan. 30, New York Voices will perform a concert on campus through Concordia's Cultural Events Series. Ensembles participating in the Vocal Jazz Festival will have an opportunity to add tickets for this concert to their registration.
Registration is $100 per ensemble. Tickets for the Friday evening concert can be added on for $25 per ensemble. Ensembles planning to eat on campus during the Saturday Festival should plan to pay $15 per individual for lunch.
For more information, please email Vocal Jazz staff advisor Wyatt Steinke.
New York Voices continues to tour internationally and has performed in some of the world’s most preeminent venues and festivals, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Kennedy Center, and has been involved in two Grammy Award-winning projects with Paquito D’Rivera and the Count Basie Orchestra. The ensemble will retire at the end of 2026.
Tommy Boynton is a current member of The Four Freshmen, a jazz vocal band that began in 1948 and has never stopped touring for more than 76 years. He is a jazz singer, composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist residing in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Liz Townsend is an award-winning vocalist, pedagogue, arranger, and clinician. She recently released her debut album, "Along the Way," which features original music along with her arrangements of beloved jazz standards. She has been invited as a guest clinician to work with collegiate and high school choirs across the country.