Darmon Meader/Next-Gen Jazz

This year, we are proud to be hosting vocalist, saxophonist, and arranger Darmon Meader of the Grammy-winning New York Voices as our Next-Gen Jazz guest artist and clinician. Meader will perform with three ensembles at the festival: Punxsutawney High School Jazz Choir (11:00 am), Westsylvania All-Star High School Jazz Combo (11:30 am), and the Nevin Saylor Big Band (12:15 pm). He will also conduct a master class for student musicians at the festival.

Recognized in both the jazz vocal and instrumental worlds, Darmon Meader is a highly respected vocalist, arranger, and saxophonist. Meader has achieved international recognition as the founder, musical director, chief arranger, composer, producer, saxophonist, and vocalist with the Grammy-winning New York Voices.

As a member of New York Voices, he has released numerous recordings on the GRP, RCA/Victor, Concord and MCGJazz labels. In 2008, Darmon released his much-anticipated debut solo CD, And So Am I. This project is a collection of jazz standards and original works, which reflects his varied interests and skills as a singer, saxophonist, writer, and arranger.

With New York Voices, Meader has collaborated with a variety of artists including Ray Brown, Mark Murphy, Bernadette Peters, Ivan Lins, Bob Dorough, Don Sebesky, Nancy Wilson, Ann Hampton Callaway, Jim Hall, Paquito D’Rivera, and the Count Basie Orchestra. He has toured internationally, performing at such renowned venues as Carnegie Hall, North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, and Blue Note Jazz Clubs (New York and Japan). In addition to Meader’s New York Voices touring and recording commitments, he is increasingly busy as a soloist, sideman, studio musician, and composer. Meader continues to be actively involved in music education, working as a clinician and guest artist at both the high school and university levels.

Meader has been the guest conductor for All-State Jazz Ensembles in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Wisconsin, and has made artist-in-residence appearances at numerous schools, including Northwestern University, University of Louisville, American River College, Humber College, Columbia College and University of Georgia. Meader has also taught at numerous domestic and international music workshops including the Inzigkoven Vocal Jazz Workshop in Germany, various IAJE Teacher’s Training Institutes, the Western Michigan University Vocal Jazz Camp, the Vocal Pop & Jazz Days workshop in the Netherlands, the Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp, and the NYV BGSU Vocal Jazz Camp. Meader is currently a member of the jazz faculty at the Manhattan School of Music. Many of Meader’s choral, vocal jazz, and instrumental arrangements are available through the following publishers: Carl Fischer Music, Shawnee Press, Hal Leonard, Alfred Music, Belwin Mills, and UNC JazzPress.