2026 EMTA Jazz, Rags, and Blues Festival and Concert Information

1 November 2026: Deadline to purchase reduced price EMTA Festival Concert Tickets
13 November 2026: EMTA Jazz, Rags, and Blues Festival Concert at 7:00PM
Venue: Calvin Presbyterian Church at 18826 3rd Ave NW, Shoreline, WA 98177
The 2026 EMTA Jazz, Rags, and Blues Festival Concert Ticket Purchase Form is not yet available.

13 October 2026: EMTA Jazz, Rags, and Blues Festival and Workshop Registration Deadline
14 November 2026: EMTA Jazz, Rags, and Blues Festival with Masterclasses and Workshop
Venue: Calvin Presbyterian Church at 18826 3rd Ave NW, Shoreline, WA 98177
The 2026 EMTA Jazz, Rags, and Blues Festival and Workshop Registration Form is not yet available

2026 EMTA Jazz, Rags, and Blues Festival Chairpersons: Valerie Gathright, Cathy Baylor, and Shaoming Greene.
EMTA members should contact the chairpersons via email with any questions about the festival. Please check the members only section of the website for contact information.


Jazz, Rags, and Blues Festival Concert

The Dan Taylor Trio
Students will be able to purchase $5 student and $10 parent tickets in advance. Tickets will be available for $20 at door. Please note – EMTA Teachers need to purchase the $10.00 tickets if planning on attending the festival concert.

Concert date and time: November 13, 2026 at 7:00PM
Concert Venue: Calvin Presbyterian Church at 18826 3rd Ave NW, Shoreline, WA 98177

Jazz, Rags, and Blues Festival and Workshop Information

The festival will consist of two sessions: A masterclass and a workshop. Each session will be 1/2 to 1 hour long.

Festival/Workshop Registration Fee: $40 for one 5 minute or less piece. $50 for one 6-10 minute piece
Festival and Workshop Date and Time: November 14, 2026 from 8:30AM to 6:00PM
Festival and Workshop Venue: Calvin Presbyterian Church at 18826 3rd Ave NW, Shoreline, WA 98177

MASTERCLASS
Each student will perform one jazz, rags, or blues piece. During the masterclass, the visiting artist will work with each student as well as write a brief evaluation. The adjudicator may recognize exceptional student performances by placing a gold seal on their certificate. Only memorized pieces are eligible for a gold seal. Certificates will be mailed to the student’s teacher after the festival. At the conclusion of the festival the adjudicator will select up to three best of festival awards for junior (ages 12 and under) and senior (ages 13+) levels with up to three alternates for each. All best of festivals need to come across as authentically in the style of jazz, rags or blues. Students receiving a best of festival will perform and be awarded a trophy at the 2026 EMTA Awards Gala in June. Results will be posted on the website after teachers and students are made aware of them by email.

Masterclass Requirements for Participation:

  1. Pieces must be works representing the Jazz, Rags or Blues styles. These include but are not limited to pieces from method book series (i.e. Martha Mier, Nancy and Randall Faber, etc.), original transcriptions (i.e. Chick Corea, Art Tatum), and improvisations based on lead sheets.
  2. Memorization is encouraged but not required. Only memorized pieces will be eligible for gold seals.
  3. Performance and workshop times will be held between 8:30AM – 6:00PM. Time requests and changes may be considered but cannot be guaranteed. Students will be scheduled in groups according to age or level for a maximum of 1.75 hour duration (up to 1 hour masterclass, up to 45 minute workshop).
  4. Festival/Workshop Registration Fee: $40 per student for one 5 minute or less piece, $50 for one 6-10 minute piece. Only one piece is permitted due to time constraints.
  5. Registration will be completed on the EMTA website (edmondsmusicteachers.org) and is due no later than midnight on October 13, 2026. Please note the style of your piece on the registration form, whether it is a Rag, Blues or Jazz piece and whether or not you are improvising music based on a lead sheet.

WORKSHOP –
The workshop will consist of group activities and exercises on the keyboard exploring an aspect of jazz or blues.

Visiting Artist Bios

Workshop Visiting Artist: John Sanders

John Sanders is entering his 24th year as music faculty at Edmonds College where he teaches two years of music theory and directs the Jazz & Salsa Band. John is a working jazz pianist and is grateful to have been a student of jazz educators Dave Barduhn and John Moawad. Although perfectly at home with straight-ahead swing, John has developed an affinity for Latin and groove styles. His eternal-student mentality continues to take him on musical journeys to different cultures and locales to study new instruments and genres. In addition to past trips in Cuba, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, John spent January through June this year studying music in Brazil.

Masterclass Visiting Artist: Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is a pianist, music educator, and performer living in Snoqualmie, Washington. Before opening his private piano studio in 2024, Dan served the Snoqualmie Valley as a middle school band director for ten years.

Dan earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Central Washington University. As a member of the internationally acclaimed CWU Jazz Band, Dan performed nationally and internationally at major festivals and conferences such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Jazz Education Network Conference, WIBC and many other local tours and festivals. As a band director in the SVSD, Dan attended the Essentially Ellington Festival in New York and the Midwest Clinic in Chicago with the critically acclaimed Mount Si High School Jazz Band. Dan has performed with many of the Seattle area’s top big bands and musicians, and has appeared on stage with jazz luminaries such as Ingrid Jensen, Terell Stafford, and Nancy King. Dan is in demand as a clinician and guest artist and often works with students of all ages across Washington state in the areas of classical and jazz piano, jazz band, jazz choir, concert band, and as an accompanist for both large ensembles and soloists.

Workshop Visiting Artist: Randy Halberstadt

A pianist, arranger, composer, lyricist, and author, Randy has enjoyed an international performing career, having played and/or recorded with instrumentalists Mimi Fox, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, James Moody, Herb Ellis, Houston Person, Bobby Shew, and Jiggs Wigham, and with vocalists Jay Clayton, Sheila Jordan, Ernestine Anderson, Rene Marie, Marlena Shaw, Meredith d’Ambrosio, and Jackie Ryan. In addition to leading his own groups, Randy is the pianist for the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. His recordings include Inner Voice (1991), Clockwork (1995), Parallel Tracks (2004), Flash Point (2010), and Open Heart (2018). Randy’s book, Metaphors For The Musician (2002) has become one of the most highly acclaimed texts in jazz education. His composition “When Springtime Turns To Fall” appears in The All-Jazz Real Book (both books published by Sher Music Co. in 2002). Randy taught for 41 years at Seattle’s prestigious Cornish College of the Arts before retiring in May 2018.