Welcome to the website for the Hilton Head Jazz Camp, the premier summer jazz camp located in beautiful Bluffton, South Carolina, only 15 minutes from neighboring Hilton Head and the Atlantic ocean. Our jazz camp is available to aspiring intermediate and advanced music students ages 14-20 who wish to improve their jazz skills with an immersive study in improvisation, theory, combos, masterclasses, big band and elective courses with our professional faculty. We are excited to be back again this July with our premier Hilton Head Jazz Camp running daily from 9am-4pm with additional evening performances and activities.
We had an amazing 2024! Save the date for our next camp on July 7-12, 2025 – registration will open early 2025! This October, don’t miss the JJF’s Jazz For All Ages festival, which will support our scholarship fund!
From an initial camp of only 9 students at our first camp in 2011, we have grown into a summer destination for aspiring jazz musicians attracting as many as 130 students for our Hilton Head Jazz Camp or one of our other summer jazz programs. In addition to hosting many local students, we have had our students attend the camp from as far away as Alaska, Texas, Arizona and Idaho. In addition to the main camp, we also offer our beginner jazz clinic (ages 10-14) and jazz guitar institute (ages 14-18). All of our programs are hosted on the brand new Bluffton campus of Hilton Head Christian Academy, a beautiful new 26-acre campus in the heart of the Lowcountry nestled in between Beaufort, Hilton Head and Savannah. With a beautiful new campus with incredible facilities available, this summer’s jazz camps will be an exciting choice for any aspiring jazz student.
If you are looking at the Hilton Head Jazz Camp for the first time, browse our site to see more details about our location, schedule, tuition rates, scholarship program, lodging options and read about our terrific faculty here at the HHJC.
What are the reasons for choosing the Hilton Head Jazz Camp?
Here are a few stand-out features to our camp including:
- Overnight accommodations for out-of-town students with 24/7 supervision and additional evening activities.
- Our artist-in-residence program, which has featured guest artists such as:
- Nicki Parrott (bassist / vocalist of the Les Paul Trio)
- Charlton Singleton (Grammy-winning trumpeter of Ranky Tanky)
- Mark Rapp (SC Ambassador of Jazz / founder of ColaJazz)
- Aimee Nolte (Renowned jazz pianist / vocalist and YouTube creator with over 200,000 subscribers)
- Ricardo Ochoa (jazz violinist of the award-winning band Velvet Caravan)
- A seven hour daily schedule with an immersive study in improvisation, theory, combos, masterclasses, big band and elective courses with our professional faculty.
- Financial aid offerings in the form of merit and financial-based scholarships along with automatic discounts for siblings, camp alumni, and honor band students.
- Usage of the full campus and fine arts facilities on campus with 14 diverse spaces including a music technology lab, keyboard lab, various rehearsal spaces and the jazz cafe.
- A mid-week private lunch and masterclass at the Jazz Corner, one of the “top 100 jazz clubs in the world” according to Downbeat magazine.
- Four public performances: A Tuesday evening faculty recital in Celebration Park (7pm), a Thursday evening vocal recital (7pm), Friday evening combo concert (5pm) and Saturday afternoon camp finale (2pm) at the HHCA Performing Arts Center are all part of our camp week. Two complimentary tickets are given for each student for the finale concert.
- In addition to the typical jazz camp offerings, we offer a special jazz orchestral strings program and vocal jazz program as a unique feature of the HHJC.
- 18 full-time professional faculty (an incredible 4:1 faculty to student ratio)
- Fresh chef-prepared daily lunch offerings, included for all students attending the Hilton Head Jazz Camp.
We are proudly part of the Junior Jazz Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, which aims to promote jazz education for the next generation. In addition to the Junior Jazz Foundation, we are supported by a number of private donors. If you have any questions or are interested in the supporting the Hilton Head Jazz Camp, contact us, or join our Facebook group.
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Our supporters:
A special thanks to our private scholarship donors.