Jazz in the Valley
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JIV is a celebration of music for our community and guests.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization driven completely by a volunteer board. Even though we have a budget of over $100,000, it may surprise you to learn that we have no staff. When you attend a festival, you are seeing the hard work of countless board members, weekend volunteers, and committee volunteers. The festival is a task that takes an entire year to plan and pull off the three days of fun.

We strive to offer an affordable, entertaining weekend of performances of high artist merit. Our music committee strives to offer our patrons a diversity of musical styles within the roots of jazz. We often get asked why we offer genres like blues and rock. These music genres were greatly shaped by the early jazz days. Without jazz, they would not be the same as they are today.

We provide educational opportunities to Central Washington University students via two music scholarships. We also co-sponsor a summer jazz camp for high school students and offer scholarships for players to attend the camp. They perform on the Saturday morning of the annual festival.

Board Members

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Tony Swartz

President & Director
Tony started leading Jazz in the Valley for the 2018 festival. He is an attorney in Ellensburg and a CWU instructor for Law and Justice and Business classes. He plays trumpet in the Ellensburg Big Band, is a member of Ellensburg Morning Rotary, and is a CWU Alumni Board member.
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Rob Fraser

Promotions, Music
Rob is a photographer in Ellensburg. He also plays drums. He is currently involved in the Ellensburg band “Chuck Boom” as drummer.
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Chris Bruya

Education Chair, Music,
Chris is a Central Washington University professor in the Music Department, where he teaches jazz studies. He is also a trumpet player and currently plays with The Professors.
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Micah Brunner

Executive Committee, Facilities, Promotions

Greg Lyman

Music
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Don Solberg

Executive Committee, Treasurer, Fundraising, Facilities
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Marie Smith

Facilities Chair, Volunteers
Marie is 4th generation Ellensburg. She loves good music, dancing, and cowboys. She is grateful for the beautiful Kittitas Valley and its people.
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Joy Solberg

Fundraising
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Amy Burke

Promotions Chair, Volunteers, Fundraising
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Norm Wallen

Music, Education
Norm is a bandleader, composer/arranger, music teacher for more than 40 years, and member of the adjunct music faculty at Central Washington University since 2010.

Linda Warren

Volunteer Coordinator

Laura Stanley

Music, Facilities, Promotions

Jazz in the Valley | Ellensburg’s July Music Fest

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  • Home
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