SCORES & SOLOISTS
★ MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON
DIRECTORS FESTIVAL TIME LINE
Begin By Seeing "What's New" for NJF 2027 Available Here
look over the many NJF April 15-17 Registration options available Here.
Review NJF Festival Rules For your ensembles. Available Here
Review NJF & Pennsylvania Convention Center Official Rules Available Here
Confirm your ensembles availability !
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October 18 2026
Begin your NJF Registration Here
Register for Additional NJF Programs Here
Offer Deserving Students the Following NJF Opportunities:
"NJF Diplomats" - Instrumental Student Ensemble
"NJF Ambassadors" Vocal Student Ensemble
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December 18th 2026
All NJF Pre-Festival & Day of Festival Registration Forms Due
Submit Vocal Soloist Video Submission Uploads Here
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January 2027
Finalize any NJF "Early Season On-line Sessions" You Registered For
All NJF Final Payments Due January 17
Late Registration Participation Confirmed January 18
Vocal Soloist Finalists Announced January 18
By end of February 2027
Start Planning Your "NJF Merch" Purchases
Sign Up for Your Free NJF Ensemble Picture
Order Your NJF Hoagies for Dinner
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March 2027
March 1st Recording Arts Submission Uploads Here
Time to nominate Jazz Educator of the Year!
Time to Nominate the NJF Love Award
NJF Vocal Ambassadors & Diplomats Begin On Line Help Sessions
March 3 Upload Your Performers Names & Selections Here
Confirm Your Pre-festival NJF Events
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April 1 2027
All Early Season On Line Sessions Must Be Completed
NJF Final Performance Schedule Release Date
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Contact: info@nationaljazzfestival.org
INSTRUMENT & EQUIPMENT STORAGE
★For 2027 NJF participants will have tables in or near their performance area available to store your instruments. NJF recommends you assign chaperones to keep watch on your equipment while you and your students are enjoying the full day of activities. Please keep an eye on all your instruments and equipment. There will be Pennsylvania Convention Center Security and additional NJF Volunteers to monitor the activity and traffic in and out of the instrument storage & performance rooms.
However, neither the Pennsylvania Convention Center nor the National Jazz Festival is responsible for lost or stolen equipment.
★Every school must take responsibility for their own items. We will only allow students and adults with NJF Wristbands/Badges into that area.
★ With the size of this festival NJF cannot supply performance rooms with any type of electronic back line. (ie: keyboards & amps) We have tried but it became problematic with logistics, cost and the consistency of quality equipment. We have found success in the percussion category with O’Brien Percussion Rentals. Percussion Rental FAQs is a helpful guide. All rental equipment must be returned immediately after your performance.
★Music Stands : NJF will supply 25 music stands in Large Ensemble Rooms, 13 in Small Ensemble Rooms, 8 in Combo Rooms, 25 in instrumental Clinic Rooms, 6 in Vocal Rooms. You may want to bring some folding music stands if you need additional music stands for your performance
★(1) Power Strip. A suggestion for easy hook-up would be to make sure you bring extension cords for all your electronics so that you can set up quickly and easily to the PCC one supplied power cord. Practice & expedite your set up before the festival date! ★(1) PCC House Wired Microphone for Speaking or “Upfront Soloists”. You may use the house microphone for solos if you choose to do so. The sound comes from the ceiling speakers. ★You may bring any additional equipment, including sound systems, amplifiers, percussion, or anything else. Remember following your brief post performance NJF artist verbal commentary you have 5 minutes to remove all your equipment from the performance room. Failure to follow these timing rules may result in your ensemble being disqualified or moved to the non-compete category.
Practice & expedite your set up and tear down before the festival date!
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★ With the size of this festival NJF cannot supply performance rooms with any type of electronic back line. (ie: keyboards & amps) We have tried but it became problematic with logistics, cost and the consistency of quality equipment. We have found success in the percussion category with O’Brien Percussion Rentals Percussion Rental FAQs All rental equipment must be returned immediately after your performance.
★Music Stands : NJF will supply 20 music stands in Large Ensemble Rooms, 15 in Small Ensemble Rooms, 9 in Combo Rooms, 20 in instrumental Clinic Rooms, 5 in Vocal Rooms. You may want to bring some folding music stands if you need additional music stands for your performance
★(1) Power Strip. A suggestion for easy hook-up would be to make sure you bring extension cords for all your electronics so that you can set up quickly and easily to the PCC 1 supplied power cord. Practice & expedite your set up before the festival date! (1) PCC House Wired Microphone for Speaking or “Upfront Soloists”. You may use the house microphone for solos if you choose to do so. The sound comes from the ceiling speakers. You may bring any additional equipment, including sound systems, amplifiers, percussion, or anything else. Remember following your brief NJF artists verbal commentary you have 5 minutes to remove all your equipment from the performance room. Failure to follow these timing rules may result in your ensemble being disqualified or moved to the non-compete category.
Practice & expedite your set up and tear down before the festival date!
diately following each performance.
PENNSYLVANIA CONVENTION CENTER STUDENT DROP-OFF
& EQUIPMENT UNLOADING AREA
PERFORMANCE & SETUP TIMES
★For 2027 NJF participants will have tables in or near their performance area available to store your instruments. NJF recommends you assign chaperones to keep watch on your equipment while you and your students are enjoying the full day of activities.
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★Plan on moving to your warm up/performance location about 10 minutes before your assigned time. Each ensemble will have 30 minutes to set-up and warm-up in your performance room. For instrumental ensembles the adjudicators come to your warm-up room. At the end of the warm-up session, the ensemble will be introduced to the audience and adjudicators to begin your performance.
★The adjudicators come to your assigned warm up room.
At the end of the 30-minute warm up the ensemble will be introduced to the audience and adjudicators to begin your performance.
★Each HS & MS ensemble will have exactly 20 minutes of performance time.
Each ensemble will be timed from the first note of their first performance selection until the final cut of their final performance selection. Ensembles may not “restart” their performance for any reason.
★Once the clock starts, it will continue to run. The 20 minutes of performance time is finite.
Any competitive ensemble exceeding the 20-minute performance time will be automatically assigned to the non-compete division.
A timing of 19:59 or 20:00 is acceptable, however a timing of 20:01 is not.
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★For competitive groups NJF adjudicators want to hear as much material as possible. Our festival performing ensembles come from far and wide. Our competitive divisions are quite strong. The adjudicators are looking for as much quality of performance as possible in your 20 minute performance slot!
★Following the performance, your ensemble will be given verbal critique from an adjudicator.
★Click here for more info about the NJF Program 2 additional 50 minute clinic with one of our visiting NJF Artists.
★We suggest that you record the feedback for later use. After which time you will have exactly 5 minutes to remove all belongings from the performance area as the next ensemble will be entering to begin set up. Taking longer than 5 minutes may lead to disqualification.
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★Remember: The NJF Non-Compete division receives the same performance opportunities as the Competitive divisions but your adjudication score is not listed on the post festival recap. The non-compete option allows the director to use the optional adjudicated score as a method of growth for your ensemble.
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★FOOD: The Pennsylvania Convention Center has very strict food rules as it pertains to their
contract with their food service provider Aramark.
You and your students are allowed to eat in the Pennsylvania Convention Center
BUT
★Do not bring in bulk food items (such as boxes of pizza or trays of food). Any food that appears
to be a buffet or catering for multiple people is prohibited!
You/your school will be responsible for any charges assessed by Aramark and/or the
Pennsylvania Convention Center for violating these rules.
The Reading Terminal Market at
1136 Arch Street is a short walk from the Convention Center and is open daily from 8am - 6pm
and offers a wide variety of food for your students to purchase.
We all just have to do our best to not bring in larger amounts of food for the entire group.
Individuals may bring in food/lunches in their individual bags.
★arrive at pennsylvania Convention center via one way 13th street off of arch street or Market street. Vocal Division Bus Drop Off is on the Right side only of 13th street
★after drop off proceed to corner of 13th & Race street. turn right on race then turn right on 12th street.
★instrumental division bus drop off is on the right side only of 12th street. AFTER UNLOADING ALL BUSES MUST EXIT THE PCC AREA.
★At the registration desk you will be given an envelope containing your students' NJF
wristbands, your chaperone wristbands, and your director badges. These items provide ACCESS TO the entire day of performances, clinics, master classes and awards ceremonies.
SCORES & SOLOISTS
★Directors must provide each of the 2 NJF adjudicators a conductors score for each piece being performed and include a list of your soloists
instrument and name. This information and your program information with your ensemble members names must be uploaded to the NJF 2027 Festival Information Upload Folder by March 1 2027.
★YES PHOTOCOPIES* ARE FINE! If you would like your original scores returned please retrieve them before you leave the performance room. For Jazz Combo Division, copies of lead sheets are fine if a score of the arrangement does not exist.
★There is no access to a photocopy machine at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
★NJF participants will assume all costs arising from the use or misuse of patented, trademarked, franchised or copyrighted music, materials, devices, and dramatic rights used in or incorporated in their NJF performances. Customer agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the PCC Authority and the National Jazz Festival LLC from any claims, damages or costs, including legal fees, which may arise from use of such material.
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A REMINDER ABOUT EQUIPMENT SUPPLIED IN NJF DIVISION CATEGORY ROOMS:
★With the size of this festival NJF cannot supply performance rooms with any type of electronic back line. (ie: keyboards & amps) We have tried but it became problematic with logistics, cost and the consistency of quality equipment. NJF is still trying to find a collaborator that can accommodate keyboard & amp rentals.