The RJO provides a Saturday workshop for students in Northern Nevada who would like to work on improvisation, jazz theory, ear training, and small group performance. Currently taught by Dylan Coleman, 2 sessions are offered for 9 weeks per semester and 2 levels are offered. Each session is limited to 10 students. The culminating project will be 2 concerts in which the Jazz Workshop students are the opening group for an RJO Concert. This is a great opportunity for young musicians who would like to work on skills that they don’t work on in their school ensembles regularly. Students also benefit from the small group instruction, performance aspects and recording experience.

Listen to "Take the Coltrane" recorded at Tanglewood Studios on June 5, 2021 by the Spring 2021 Jazz Workshop Combo.

As a Legacy Society member, your passion, support, and dedication to our organization and fans worldwide will be forever treasured. With your commitment to create your personal legacy for the Reno Jazz Orchestra, you will sustain that extraordinary legacy of music and education that we are honored to share with our fans and community as well.

Students are back in school for in-person learning and the music programs have restarted. The Reno Jazz Orchestra (RJO), in response, has restarted our in-person jazz education programs led by Nichole Heglund, our Education Coordinator. Heglund has a new job with the WCSD as an instructional coach for K-12 music programs for new music teachers. It is a new two-year program with an optional third year. She meets with two to three teachers a day to provide resources and observe and assist in the classroom. A lot of teachers are excited about returning to normal as much of last year hindered bands and choirs from rehearsing indoors...

The RJO concluded this year's Jazz in the Schools program with an online concert featuring RJO trumpeter Julien Knowles with his quartet performing original compositions. The group played thirty minutes, then broke to answer questions from the participating students, and then the Quartet finished with another thirty-minute performance.

Our mission is to build a greater appreciation of jazz in Northern Nevada by providing outstanding big band performances, promoting the artistry of Reno Jazz Orchestra musicians through a variety of ensembles, and supporting jazz education through a mentorship program in middle schools, high schools, and colleges. All combined, we contribute to the vibrancy, diversity, cultural vitality, and quality of our community’s artistic life.

Chris Casaceli is both a gifted saxophonist and film maker. A world renown cinematographer has agreed to mentor Chris in the making of an hour-long documentary of the RJO and how we have helped foster a new young jazz community in Reno.

In place of live concerts througout the entire year of the 2020 Covid pandemic, with your help, we are moving forward to record an audio/video album, Now, Then, and Forever - Celebrating the music of Earth, Wind, & Fire. The album will include material we are going to perform this coming summer, 2021, at Sand Harbor State Park.

For readers who may be unfamiliar with the RJO, the Reno Jazz Orchestra is Northern Nevada’s premiere big band, in existence for over two decades and featuring some of Northern Nevada’s best jazz musicians. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has presented the RJO from performing live since the beginning of the pandemic. This article will review how the RJO has continued to function in the absence of live concert performances.

Stay in touch with the RJO by joining the RJO Fan Club. All we need is your name and your email address. We'll keep you informed about upcoming performances, events, and our plans for the future. We promise, we won't give your info to anyone outside our organication, and we won't fill your inbox with countless emails, but we will remind you of great music you won't want to miss.