Durham Jazz Workshop
Durham Jazz Workshop is a nonprofit community music organization dedicated to jazz education, performance, and creative collaboration for students of all ages. Durham Jazz Workshop and Sharp Nine Gallery operate as complementary parts of a single ecosystem, with DJW serving as the education and community engagement arm, and Sharp Nine Gallery serving as the performance and presentation arm. Through in-school concerts, interactive clinics, and residencies, DJW brings professional jazz musicians into Durham-area schools to inspire curiosity, strengthen listening skills, and connect students to jazz as a living, evolving art form.
Call, Response, Create
Program Type: Performance
Grades Served: Kindergarten-12
Duration: 60-90 minutes
Program Description: Call, Response, Create is an interactive in-school jazz performance that brings the language of jazz to life through sound, conversation, and creativity. Presented through the Durham Arts Council CAPS program, this 60–90-minute concert features professional Durham Jazz Workshop musicians performing live while guiding students through the core ideas of jazz: listening, responding, and creating in real time.
Blending high-level musicianship with clear explanations, demonstrations, and age-appropriate student participation, the program shows how rhythm, melody, and improvisation work together. Students experience jazz as a shared dialogue—between musicians, between traditions, and between the performers and the audience. Programs are thoughtfully adapted for elementary, middle, or high school audiences and align with music education standards while encouraging collaboration, curiosity, and creative expression.
Max participants: No Maximum
Special Requirements: Stage or large classroom; PA with 2 microphones; piano or keyboard with amp; bass amp; drum set; accessible electrical outlets.
Single Performance Fee: $1,250
Two Same-Day Performances: $1,875
Two Performances on Different Days: $1,250 per day
Inside The Bandstand
Program Type: Workshop or Residency
Grades Served: 6-12
Duration: 60-90 minutes per session (or up to the class-time available).
Program Description: Inside the Bandstand is an immersive half-day jazz residency that invites students beyond the performance and into the creative process itself. Led by professional Durham Jazz Workshop musicians and educators, this residency offers a hands-on arts learning experience rooted in collaboration, curiosity, and musical dialogue.
Through interactive workshops, guided listening, discussion, and collaborative music-making, students explore how jazz is built in real time. Participants develop skills in rhythm, improvisation, ensemble playing, and focused listening while gaining insight into the roles musicians play within a band. Residencies are thoughtfully tailored by grade level, meeting students where they are and encouraging creative risk-taking, shared responsibility, and deeper musical understanding.
Max participants: 50
Workshop with 1 instructor (up to 2 classes per day): $625
2-Day Residency with 1 instructor or 1 workshop with 2 instructors (up to 2 classes per day): $750
2-Day Residency with 2 instructors: $1,437.50; Add $312.50 per instructor per day for longer residencies
Individual Grade Level versions are also available to accommodate 4 to 6 groups in one day.
Multi-day workshop residencies and band performance combinations available and negotiated upon request
