The Studio Big Band presents the music of the Count Basie Orchestra directed by Director of Jazz & Commercial Music, Dr. Matthew Niess.

Broadway icon Bernadette Peters launches the Hylton Presents 2026–27 season with an intimate and unforgettable evening of music, stories, and her signature charm. Celebrated for her multi-award-winning legendary career on stage and screen, Peters performs Broadway favorites and American standards. She is joined onstage by musicians from the American Festival Pops Orchestra. Praised by The New York Times as “Broadway’s brightest star” and “a performer of rare grace and emotional power,” Peters makes her much-anticipated Hylton Center debut in a dazzling season-opening event.

The Winchester Jazz Collective will perform at the Apple Blosoom Pink Tie Gala

Jazz Workshop for all ages, register here: nationaljazzworkshop.org

Jazz Workshop for all ages, register here: nationaljazzworkshop.org

Jazz Workshop for all ages, register here: nationaljazzworkshop.org

Jazz Workshop for all ages, register here: nationaljazzworkshop.org

Jazz Workshop for all ages, register here: nationaljazzworkshop.org

Opening for Big Al and The Jokers

Outdoor concert at Reston Town Center during Happy Hour

The Winchester Jazz Collective will perform at the Chantilly Jazz festival at 1:00 PM

Monday Night is Big Band Night at CraftWorx Taproom

Shenandoah Conservatory is proud to serve as a site for an Essentially Ellington Regional High School Band Festival in Winchester, Virginia. Director of Jazz & Commercial Music and Associate Professor of Trombone Matthew Niess will serve as director of this year’s event. Through its annual Essentially Ellington program, Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) co-produces education-focused festivals designed to offer high school jazz bands of all levels the opportunity to perform the music of Duke Ellington and other seminal big band composers and arrangers. Participating bands receive professional feedback from JALC clinicians and other jazz professionals in their own backyard.

Celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s independence with the American Festival Pops Orchestra (AFPO)! Under the baton of Artistic Director, Peter Wilson, join the AFPO for a compelling journey through the American experience with musical classics of the concert stage and screen by great American composers. Enjoy “Rhapsody in Blue” by Gershwin and works by Copland, Sousa, and John Williams, while paying tribute to the Veterans who have defended this great nation for two and a half centuries. This family-friendly concert will also feature the AFPO’s embedded big band and rich musical talent unique to the National Capital Region.

A Little Noon Music with the Shenandoah Conservatory's Tromblone Collective performing holiday favotites as well as arrangements by trombonist Tommy Pederson as recorded by the LA, California's "Hollywood Trombones"

A Little Noon Music with Shenandoah Conservatory's "Jazz Standards"

The Commercial Rock Ensemble is dedicated to performing commercial and Top-40 hits from past to present. The Power of Funk brings the groove to life in a high-energy tribute to the rhythms, basslines and bold spirit that define the genre. From pioneers like The Meters and James Brown to modern funk-infused rock by Red Hot Chili Peppers and Living Colour, this electrifying performance celebrates the lasting impact and unstoppable drive of funk music.

Back and bigger than ever, the Battle of the Big Bands returns with FOUR Bands! Join us at CraftWorx Taproom in Gainesville, VA for a night of incredible music.

The SonoKlect Series at Washington and Lee University will present Matt Niess and The Capitol Bones All Brass Big-Band in concert on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. in Wilson Concert Hall, Wilson Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. A reception follows the performance.

The program will include two works by local composer and series director Terry Vosbein, marking the continuation of a long-standing artistic collaboration between Vosbein and Niess.

The Mighty Little Big Band is an 11-piece, pint-sized big band. Featuring some of the finest musicians in the Washington, D. C. metro area, the group was created in 2021 to perform the compositions (original and jazz standards) and arrangements of its leader, saxophonist, Steve Williams. Composer, arranger and saxophonist Steve Williams has enjoyed a thirty-five-year career performing many styles of music. He has appeared on numerous albums including the Latin Grammy winning (2008) “Caribbean Jazz Project/Afro Bop Alliance Big Band featuring Dave Samuels.” Steve’s big band album, “Steve Williams and Jazz Nation,” is available on OA2 Records and features Steve’s exciting arrangements and compositions. Steve is a former member of the United Stated Navy Band Commodores, serving as the band’s lead alto player and musical director, contributing over fifty compositions and arrangements.