Our Schedule – Summer Summit

Each day, we have a fantastic variety of situations that get you playing, improving on your instrument, and get you inspired like never before. We have years of experience balancing the schedule with breaks and learning!

Monday – July 27th

7:00 – 10:00pm OPENING CONCERT (3D Trio & Guests) – Join the 3D Trio & Jeff Antoniuk (Jackie Warren, Amy Shook, Jeff Antoniuk, and Sherrie Maricle) and special guests for our 23rd annual Opening Concert for the JazzWire Summer Summit. The Takoma Station Tavern is one of DC’s premier jazz spots, and a place for us to all meet, eat, drink and be merry. Your ticket is included in your tuition, and guest can purchase tickets from the website here.
Takoma Station Tavern
6914 4th St NW
Washington, DC 20012

Tuesday – July 28th

9:00 – 10:00am Sign-in & Set Up – Arrive at the facility, sign in at the front, and set up in your band-room, and meet your bandmates!
10:00 – 10:15am Welcome Meeting – Jeff will introduce the staff & faculty, our Summit plans this year, and provide all of the information you’ll need to get around! (Jeff Antoniuk)
10:15 – 12:00pm Combo/Improv Group – Meet your band & faculty leader for the day. This is the core of the camp! Your faculty leader will give you improvisation ideas, play with you, and let you try things out in real time, working from the Summit songs!
12:00 – 12:15pm COFFEE BREAK! – We will have coffee, water, and tea prepared for you in main room! Take a rest and grab a seat.
12:15 – 12:30pm Faculty Concert! –  All 10 faculty members will perform two songs while lunch is being set-up, highlighting ideas and songs discussed this morning.
12:30 – 1:30pm Lunch with Faculty – A box lunch will be provided for you
1:30 – 2:30pm Instrument Specific Masterclass – A class specific to your instrument – saxophone, trombone, trumpet, piano, guitar, bass, and drums.
2:30 – 3:00pm COFFEE BREAK! – We will have coffee, water, and tea prepared for you in main room! Take a rest and grab a seat. Think ahead about your Electives.
3:00 – 3:50pm Elective Classes — Choose from one of these options:

— For a Good Time Call . . . Sherrie, Jackie & Amy (Sherrie Maricle, Jackie Warren & Amy Shook)
Playing with a metronome doesn’t necessarily mean your time feels good. Great musicians know how to create a groove that feels relaxed, connected, and irresistible. In this fun, interactive session, three world-class rhythm section musicians will share practical ways to improve your time feel, deepen your groove, and make every note feel better. No matter your instrument, you’ll leave with ideas you can put to work immediately. (all levels)

— Uncle Tony’s Intergalactic Arkestra (Tony Martucci)
This all-levels “tons of playing” elective is open to instrumentalists and vocalists who are ready to listen, explore, and take a musical leap. There’s no written music, just ears, imagination, and the joy of creating together in the moment. You’ll follow simple cues, react to what you hear, take a few musical chances, and discover just how much fun spontaneous music-making can be. Come with an open mind, a willing spirit, and get ready for a memorable ride. (all levels)

— Compose Yourself!! (Brent Birckhead)
Every great solo is really a composition created in the moment. In this interactive elective, we’ll experience that process together. Starting with a simple musical idea, each person in the room will add their own creative voice, gradually building a piece that grows into something none of us could have created alone. We’ll finish by performing our brand-new composition as an ensemble, proving that creativity doesn’t have to be mysterious. Sometimes it just starts with one note. (all levels)
4:00 – 5:30pm Combo/Improv Group – Revisit the morning group and repertoire, armed with the new material from the afternoon classes
5:45 – 7:00pm OPEN JAM SESSION – Join us for THREE jam sessions at our workshop location, starting just after classes end for the day. We’ll have the novice jam in The Music Room (upstairs), the intermediate jam in Fellowship Hall (upstairs), and the advanced jam downstairs in Room 105/106. These are very loose designations, so just please feel free to bounce around between all three!

Wednesday – July 29th

10:00 – 12:00pm Combo/Improv Group – Meet your band & faculty leader for the day. This is the core of the camp! Your faculty leader will give you improvisation ideas, play with you, and let you try things out in real time, working from the Summit songs!
12:00 – 12:15pm COFFEE BREAK! – We will have coffee, water, and tea prepared for you in main room! Take a rest and grab a seat.
12:15 – 12:30pm Faculty Concert! –  All 10 faculty members will perform two songs while lunch is being set-up, highlighting ideas and songs discussed this morning.
12:30 – 1:30pm Lunch with Faculty – A box lunch will be provided for you
1:30 – 2:30pm Whole Camp Masterclass – A lecture/recital by the Temporal Taal Collective, featuring Anajn Shah (bansuri & saxophone), Jonathan Epley (guitar), Amy Shook (bass) and Featured Guest Nabin Shrestha (tabla).
2:30 – 3:00pm COFFEE BREAK! – We will have coffee, water, and tea prepared for you in main room! Take a rest and grab a seat. Think ahead about your Electives.
3:00 – 3:50pm Hindustani Rhythm for Jazz Musicians: Expanding Time, Feel, and Imagination – In this interactive session, master tabla artist Nabin Shrestha introduces us to the rich world of Hindustani rhythm and its powerful applications in jazz. Through concepts like taal (rhythmic cycles), bol (spoken syllables), and rhythmic development, we will learn to internalize and embody rhythm in new ways using call-and-response and hands-on exercises. Nabin’s cross-cultural perspective makes these ideas immediately practical, helping us improve our time feel, expand phrasing beyond bar lines, and interact more creatively within a groove.
4:00 – 5:30pm Combo/Improv Group – Revisit the morning group and repertoire, armed with the new material from the afternoon classes
5:45 – 7:00pm OPEN JAM SESSION! – Join us for THREE jam sessions at our workshop location, starting just after classes end for the day. We’ll have the novice jam in The Music Room (upstairs), the intermediate jam in Fellowship Hall (upstairs), and the advanced jam downstairs in Room 105/106. These are very loose designations, so just please feel free to bounce around between all three!

Thursday – July 30th

10:00 – 12:00pm Combo/Improv Group – Meet your band & faculty leader for the day. This is the core of the camp! Your faculty leader will give you improvisation ideas, play with you, and let you try things out in real time, working from the Summit songs!
12:00 – 12:15pm COFFEE BREAK! – We will have coffee, water, and tea prepared for you in main room! Take a rest and grab a seat.
12:15 – 12:30pm Faculty Concert! –  All 10 faculty members will perform two songs while lunch is being set-up, highlighting ideas and songs discussed this morning.
12:30 – 1:30pm Lunch with Faculty – A box lunch will be provided for you
1:30 – 2:30pm Instrument Specific Masterclass – A class specific to your instrument – saxophone, trombone, trumpet, piano, guitar, bass, and drums.
2:30 – 3:00pm COFFEE BREAK! – We will have coffee, water, and tea prepared for you in main room! Take a rest and grab a seat. Think ahead about your Electives.
3:00 – 3:50pm Elective Classes — Choose from one of these options:

— Uncle Tony’s Intergalactic Arkestra (Tony Martucci)
This all-levels “tons of playing” elective is open to instrumentalists and vocalists who are ready to listen, explore, and take a musical leap. There’s no written music, just ears, imagination, and the joy of creating together in the moment. You’ll follow simple cues, react to what you hear, take a few musical chances, and discover just how much fun spontaneous music-making can be. Come with an open mind, a willing spirit, and get ready for a memorable ride. (all levels)

— The Groove(s) of Afro-Cuban Music (Jackie Warren)
Discover what makes Afro-Cuban music so exciting, energetic, and irresistible. In this all-levels elective, Jackie will explore the essential rhythms, feel, and musical conversations that bring this rich tradition to life. Through listening, demonstration, and hands-on playing, you’ll gain practical insights that will strengthen your time, deepen your groove, and help you bring more rhythmic confidence to any style of music. (all levels)

— The Rhythmic Approach to Improvisation (Kenny Rittenhouse)
Great improvisers know that compelling solos are built on more than just scales and chord changes. In this class, you’ll discover how rhythm can become one of your most powerful creative tools. Learn practical ways to create stronger phrasing, more forward motion, and greater musical interest by developing rhythmic ideas that connect with the groove. Whether you’re looking to make your solos swing harder, sound more conversational, or simply become more expressive, this session will give you fresh ideas you can use immediately. (all levels)
4:00 – 5:30pm Combo/Improv Group – Revisit the morning group and repertoire, armed with the new material from the afternoon classes
7:00PM – 9:00PM JAM WITH FACULTY! – Join us at the Bethesdan Hotel for our third jam session of the workshop. It’s a rollicking good time with the faculty, your friends and peers from the workshop, and YOU. Listen and/or play, eat and/or drink, and invite local friends to come listen. NO COVER. The Bethesdan Hotel, 8120 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda MD.

Friday – July 31st

10:00 – 12:00pm Combo/Improv Group – Meet your band & faculty leader for the day. This is the core of the camp! Your faculty leader will give you improvisation ideas, play with you, and let you try things out in real time, working from the Summit songs!
12:00 – 12:15pm COFFEE BREAK! – We will have coffee, water, and tea prepared for you in main room! Take a rest and grab a seat.
12:15 – 12:30pm Faculty Concert! –  All 10 faculty members will perform two songs while lunch is being set-up, highlighting ideas and songs discussed this morning.
12:30 – 1:30pm Lunch with Faculty – A box lunch will be provided for you
1:30 – 2:30pm Faculty Game Show – Get to know the faculty better, stump them with questions and have a bunch of fun doing it, all in a competitive, high stakes game show setting. Your questions will be the fuel we add to the fire. As a note, the goal is actually to learn something about music too!
2:30 – 3:00pm COFFEE BREAK! – We will have coffee, water, and tea prepared for you in main room! Take a rest and grab a seat. Think ahead about your Electives.
3:00 – 3:50pm Elective Classes — Choose from one of these options:

— Learning To Play With Less Fear! (Jonathan Epley)
Fear and self-doubt can keep us from playing our best, whether it’s on stage, at a jam session, or even in the practice room. In this encouraging, hands-on elective, Jonathan will share practical ways to build confidence, trust your musical instincts, and play with greater freedom. Through simple rhythmic concepts, creative exercises, and fresh approaches to improvisation, you’ll learn how to take musical risks with intention, move beyond “right and wrong,” and discover a more personal, expressive voice. (all levels)

— Brazilian Music: Samba, Bossa Nova & Brazilian Jazz (David Jernigan)
Discover what makes Brazilian music feel so distinctive. Here, you’ll explore the rhythmic language, groove, phrasing, and harmonic colors of samba, bossa nova, and Brazilian jazz. Through listening, demonstration, and hands-on playing, you’ll gain practical tools for approaching this rich musical tradition with greater confidence, authenticity, and joy. (all levels)

— Stop worrying and write something. It’s fun! (Ben Patterson)
Think songwriting is only for “real” composers? Think again. In this encouraging, hands-on elective, you’ll learn a few simple tools for turning musical ideas into original tunes without getting stuck trying to make them perfect. Whether you’ve never written a note or have a notebook full of unfinished ideas, you’ll leave with practical strategies, renewed confidence, and hopefully the inspiration to keep writing. (Int/Adv)
4:00 – 5:30pm Combo/Improv Group – Revisit the morning group and repertoire, armed with the new material from the afternoon classes
7:00 – 9:00pm FACULTY CONCERT! – Come check out the Summer Summit faculty in their much anticipated yearly concert at The Bethesdan Hotel. Grab dinner and a drink, and share the good vibes with your 10 mentors and faculty friends up on stage. NO COVER. The Bethesdan Hotel, 8120 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda MD.

Saturday – August 1st

10:00 – 11:30am Combo/Improv Group – Meet your band & faculty leader for the day. Rehearse music that you will play this evening with your band at the 5:30PM JazzWire Summer Summit Concert.
11:30 – 12:30pm Small Brunch with Faculty – Today we have an earlier and light brunch. More food option in the later afternoon!
12:30 – 1:30pm Instrument Specific Masterclass – A class specific to your instrument – saxophone, trombone, trumpet, piano, guitar, bass, and drums.
1:30 – 3:00pm Combo/Improv Group – FINAL REHEARSAL!
3:00pm – 5:00pm Food Truck & Load out – We have booked a great food truck to be on site (bring your credit card) so you can grab an early dinner or a coffee. During this time, you will also move your belongings & instruments out of your rehearsal room. Use this time to relax, practice a bit, and grab a quick bite. View the menu in advance here.
5:30 – 8:30PM FINAL CONCERT – The legendary JazzWire Summer Summit Final Concert, featuring YOU and all the participants from the workshop. Have your friends and family attend this memorable evening and culmination of 5+ days of your hard work. Tickets are available at the door for $25. (Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, 10701 Old Georgetown Rd, Rockville, MD 20852)
Register Now!