MISSION.
The ColaJazz Foundation is dedicated to growing, supporting and promoting jazz in the Midlands through events, education, recordings, resources and advocacy in order to create a thriving culturally rich community.
VISION.
We aim to be the driving beat in jazz education, performance and outreach providing opportunities for all from the musician to the student to the audience. We strive to serve our community, create cultural enrichment and make our capital city a premiere jazz destination in the southeast.
DESIGN & STRUCTURE.
The ColaJazz Foundation is a 2021 Governor Award winning community-minded 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. ColaJazz serves through cultural enrichment making our capital city and South Carolina a premiere jazz destination in the southeast. ColaJazz brings world-renowned jazz educators and performers face to face with our students and the public offering diverse and exciting experiences!
ColaJazz produces an annual season including the ColaJazz Summer Camps, Main Street Jazz Fest, Live in the Lobby (Koger Center for the Arts), Loft Sessions (monthly listening room concerts), statewide SC Public Radio programs, Jazz for Young People concerts, jazz workshops, after-school jazz curriculum, Great Day in Columbia, Jazz Appreciation Month ColaJazz Crawl and International Jazz Day concert, Virtual Concerts and more bringing people together from across the state and beyond to enjoy our capital city.
ColaJazz provides access to world class musicians, supports our own, invests in our future and does everything we can to ensure jazz has a home here in Columbia, SC. The ColaJazz community is comprised of musicians, educators, patrons, students, and anyone who desires to support jazz and develop our capital city’s cultural heritage.
ColaJazz remains committed to jazz which reveals the best of American culture. Jazz music from the beginning has taught us to persevere with intelligence, style and grace, be creative, work with others, celebrate differences, respect tradition while breaking new ground, be your best self while advancing the group, and jazz brings people together.