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Jazz
in 2026 Festival Volunteer Opportunities
Nicole Zuraitis Battle Creek
Volunteer Needs:
2 Usher/Greeter/Scanners
TBD Transportation
Description:
A vocalist, pianist, songwriter, and arranger who originally trained in classical voice and opera, Nicole Zuraitis offers powerful interpretations of jazz, pop, and anything else she sets her mind to. How Love Begins, her album co-produced with Christian McBride, won Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 2024 GRAMMY Awards, making her the first artist to win this award for an album entirely made up of original compositions and arrangements. Zuraitis leads a band of powerhouse artists, using her arrangements to showcase their considerable talents in the best possible light.
Chucho Valdés Royal Quartet
Volunteer Needs:
20 Usher/Greeter/Scanners
2 Information Station
TBD Transportation
Description:
For over six decades, NEA Jazz Master Chucho Valdés has defined Afro-Cuban jazz through his work as a pianist, composer, and bandleader. A winner of multiple GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY Awards, Valdés also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and has been inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame. His Royal Quartet features virtuosos from the next generation of Afro-Cuban jazz, paying homage to Chick Corea, Mozart, American blues, Cuban folksongs, and more, all with their signature sense of joy and creativity.
Finale: Sullivan Fortner Trio featuring Cécile McLorin Salvant & Ambrose Akinmusire
Volunteer Needs:
20 Usher/Greeter/Scanners
2 Information Station
TBD Transportation
Description:
The 2026 Gilmore International Piano Festival concludes with an exclusive performance created especially for this occasion, uniting three of today’s most visionary artists. Sullivan Fortner, 2026 Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist, leads his trio alongside Grammy Award–winning vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant and acclaimed trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, whose distinctive sound and compositional depth have earned him international recognition. Joined by Tyrone Allen (bass) and Kayvon Gordon (drums), they will explore new musical terrain where improvisation, storytelling, and collective imagination meet in a singular finale that promises to be both intimate and transcendent.