Pat Bartley

Pat Bartley was born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1993 and later settled with his family in Hollywood, Florida. From an early age Pat showed a profound interest in music, with a special passion for improvisation, which led him to study jazz. In sixth grade Pat was given his first baritone saxophone, but when Pat heard "Bird" for the first time he knew he wanted to play the alto saxophone. Key influences include Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Kenny Garrett and Michael Brecker. Pat has received Outstanding Awards for his soloing and doubling on the clarinet at the Essentially Ellington competitions. He was a member of the 2010 Grammy Jazz Ensemble. Pat has performed a variety of community service jobs and hopes to someday help his community regain the vibrant family atmosphere it once had.   Pat's dream is to someday live in Japan and continue to pursue music, technology, science, writing and the arts.

Xavier Del Castillo

Xavier's passion for jazz started at the age of nine when he began playing with school bands and the Woodinville, Washington community band.  At an early age he also began to participate jazz education programs such as Musicworks Northwest and the Seattle Youth Jazz Ensemble.  Currently attending Roosevelt High School in Seattle, Xavier plays first tenor in the top jazz band and student ensembles, earning recognition as an outstanding soloist at Clark College, Reno, Lionel Hampton and Bellevue College Jazz Festivals, and at the Essentially Ellington Jazz Band Competition.  Xavier plays in many impromptu ensembles, performing in venues ranging from small cafes to Seattle's Benaroya Hall between sets by the Seattle Pops.  Most notable among these ensembles is the Andy Clausen Sextet with whom he performed at the Inside-Out Jazz Awards and was featured on their debut album.  Xavier aspires to attend a music conservatory, study jazz, and become a professional jazz musician.

Russell A. Hall

A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Russell, 16, resides in South Florida. He started playing the electric bass in eighth grade then switched to the double bass when he started high school at Dillard Center for the Arts, where he's now a junior. His talent has been recognized by the Gold Coast Jazz Society, the Florida Youth Orchestra and his school's jazz ensemble, which recently placed second in the Essentially Ellington Jazz Band Competition, where he received Outstanding Awards for his bass performance and as a member of his rhythm section. He is currently the principal bassist with the Florida Youth Orchestra and a member of the Broward College Jazz Ensemble. He cites Ray Brown, Christian McBride, Ron Carter and Paul Chambers as his main influences.  He recently started a fund that provides less fortunate young musicians with free lessons and instruments. After high school he intends to pursue music studies.

Cameron Johnson

From pots and pans as a toddler, improvised drums and sticks at age four, to his first mini-kit at five, Cameron Johnson has dedicated himself to becoming a drummer.   At age eight Cameron began studying drums and guitar at Los Angeles' Silverlake Academy of Music. In ninth grade he joined the Macy Gray Music Academy, where he became a featured performer with appearances on national television.   Cameron nows plays for the Crossroads High School for Arts & Sciences "A" Jazz Band and for the Colburn Conservatory of Music's Jazz Band, both in Los Angeles. Cameron was a Grammy Band finalist, Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award Semi-Finalist, took second place at the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival, received a Los Angeles Jazz Society Program Scholarship and an Innerspark Summer Program (CalArts) Scholarship. Cameron has performed for the Los Angeles Mayor, California Governor, and at numerous events such as the Youth Arts & Education Conference and California Lawyers for the Arts. He interns with LA Works, Los Angeles' premier volunteer action center.

Cameron has been selected as an Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation Scholar.  The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation has provided funding for his Workshop scholarship.

Antonio "Tony" Madruga

Antonio "Tony" Madruga was born in Florida.  At five Antonio began piano lessons and at nine his exceptional talent was recognized by both the "Patrons of Exceptional Artists" and the "Miami International Piano Festival."  At eight Antonio was selected to perform as a representative of the United States at the Premios Veo Veo competition in Spain and later HBO chose him for the "Music in Me" series featuring prodigious musical talents.  In 2006 he made his New York debut with his trio at the famous "Sweet Rhythm," where he played with Paquito D'Rivera.  He has also played at the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival in Washington, D.C and at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in New York, as well as a performance at the White House with Paquito D'Rivera and Wynton Marsalis. Antonio is a member of the Monk Institute Jazz Combo 1 and its Jazz Ensemble and was named to Jazz in America's All-Star Sextet.  He won DownBeat Student Awards for Outstanding Jazz Soloist and Classical Soloist. Antonio is a sophomore at the New World School of the Arts in Miami.

Antonio has been selected as an Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation Scholar.  The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation has provided funding for his Workshop scholarship.

Keefe Martin

Trumpeter Keefe Martin was born in Camden, New Jersey and has just completed his sophomore year at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York City.  Keefe performed with his middle school Jazz Band at Lincoln Center and participated in the Charles Mingus Jazz Competition as a member of the Manhattan School of Music High School Big Band.  Keefe is a member of the Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra and a number of student combos.  He has attended the Boy’s Harbor Latin Jazz Institute and the Interlochen summer camp. Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan and Miles Davis have inspired Keefe to continually improve his jazz playing skills. At the Workshop Keefe hopes to develop his soloing and gain a better understanding of improvisation, while improving his musicianship and response to other musicians by using his ear and articulation.

Kevin Mixon Jr.

With his father as his teacher, Kevin started playing piano at five and began playing drums at ten.  In addition to playing in school groups, he joined a regional high school big band at the age of 13, “Young Lions of Central New York,” and also started sitting in with bands at various jazz venues in Syracuse.  It was during this time that Kevin realized that he wanted to make jazz his career.  His playing has been influenced by many drummers including Elvin Jones, John Riley and Jeff Hamilton.  He plays professionally with the Central New York Jazz Ambassadors and the Salt City Jazz Collective.  Kevin was recognized by the International Association for Jazz Educators with a Special Citation for Outstanding Musicianship and has received aSkidmore Summer Jazz Institute Scholarship, a New York State Young Artist Development Program Scholarship and a Citation for achievement from New York State Senator John DeFrancisco.

Chase Morrin

Pianist Chase Morrin attends Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, CA, where he is a member of the Javanese Gamelan Orchestra and is an avid composer for his school’s choir, dance, theater and music conservatories. Chase’s composition awards include three ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards, four DownBeat Student Music Awards, four Music Teachers’ Association of California Composers’ Today awards, and five Reno Jazz Festival awards. When playing piano Chase draws from musical idioms including classical, world and film music. He has won the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award and “Outstanding Soloist” for the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival (college division). Chase leads two ensembles:  the Chase Morrin Trio and Latin Connection. Chase plans to dive into college next year, hopefully expanding his musical repertoire and sharing his music with audiences in order to connect music with the human condition.

Zach Ostroff

Zach was born in Japan in 1992 where he lived with his family until moving to New Jersey. Eight years ago Zach and his family moved to the Bay Area in California, where Zach attends The Branson School.  He has been performing professionally since the age of 12.  Zach performs at Davies Symphony Hall with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. He was selected as the bassist of the 2010 Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, the bassist of the 2010 Jazz Band of America, a finalist for 2010 Grammy Jazz Ensemble and won 2010 DownBeat Award in the High School Jazz Combo category.  He was awarded an Eli M. Nadel Scholarship from the Stanford Jazz Workshop in 2008. Zach is a member of Bread and Roses, a non-profit organization that brings local professional musicians to play music for people who would not be able to enjoy live music otherwise. After high school Zach aspires to attend a conservatory/school of music in Manhattan.

Nico Segal

Nico was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.  He attended a dual language school for seven years and learned to speak Spanish.  Before committing to music, Nico enjoyed competitive chess and soccer and became a junior black belt in karate. Nico's love for jazz was ignited in sixth grade when he first heard Miles Davis' "In a Silent Way" and he has been devoted to jazz ever since.  Nico has received the John Philip Sousa Award for Concert Band and Louis Armstrong Jazz Award.  He has been selected for the Ravinia Jazz Scholars program, Thelonious Monk Institute's Hawaii Peer-to-Peer Performance Tour with Antonio Hart, the Merit Honors Jazz Ensemble and the Merit Brass Ensemble.  Nico is a two-time recipient of the Merit Private Lesson Scholarship. He has volunteered at the American Friends Service Committee and played fund raisers for Haiti Relief and the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. Nico plans to study music performance in college.

Josh Shpak

Josh Shpak will be a senior at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, California this fall and has been playing trumpet for eight years.  For the past two years Josh performed with the California All-State Honor Jazz Band and was selected as a finalist for the 2010 Grammy Jazz Ensemble and the Jazz Band of America.  He played at the Montreux, Vienne and Monterey Jazz Festivals with the Berkeley Jazzschool Monday Studio Band. During the summer of 2010, Josh was invited to participate in the Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony, as well as the Berklee College of Music Summer Jazz Workshop, where he was awarded a four-year, full-ride scholarship to Berklee. His musical influences include Clifford Brown, Miles Davis and the great Clark Terry, with whom he is honored to study privately.  Other teachers include Mic Gillette, Dann Zinn and Bobby Shew.  Josh’s goal for the Workshop is to learn how to tell an engaging story with each solo he plays.

Michael Troy

Michael Troy was born and raised in Clarence, New York where he began studying saxophone at the age of nine.  At the age of 11, Mike began listening to jazz and studying jazz saxophone. He currently plays tenor sax in both Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble at Clarence High School. Mike also plays jazz and blue on the electric and acoustic guitar.  Last year he held down the lead tenor chair in the All State Jazz Ensemble at Eastman School of Music, directed by Terell Stafford, and performed with the Clarence Wind Ensemble at the Mid West Clinic in Chicago. This summer Mike was selected to participate in the Skidmore Jazz Program in Saratoga Springs, NY.  Mike’s style has been especially influenced by Eric Alexander, John Coltrane and Michael Brecker. He enjoys many kinds of jazz, from be-bop to fusion.  Mike anticipates studying Jazz Performance in college.