2023 ColaJazz Impact Report

2023 COlaJazz Impact Report

2023 was an exceptional year. Many significant milestones were achieved and a few mistakes happened too. Hey, it’s an authentic journey and an exciting one at that! View our 2023 Impact Report here. It’s the report you didn’t realize you wanted to see.

2023 Midlands Gives

Invest for Impact When combined with other donations, $10 goes a long way! Your $10 contribution will:  On Tuesday, May 2nd, the Midlands will come together to participate in Midlands Gives Day, an 18-hour giving challenge to raise funds for local non-profits. SHARE YOUR SUPPORT Example 1 I’m supporting the ColaJazz Foundation! They’re disrupting the … Read more

Sun Ra Arkestra Introduction

On Saturday, October 1, 2022, ColaJazz Executive Director, Mark Rapp, had the honor of introducing the world-famous Sun Ra Arkestra at the 2022 Jam Room Music Festival. Below is what he had to say and a video to go along with it. SUN RA INTRO . 10/1/2022 . JAM ROOM FESTIVAL (Columbia, SC) My name … Read more

NYC TO SC: LIVE IN THE LOBBY 2022

TAKE THE A TRAIN TO SODA CITY The Koger Center for the Arts and ColaJazz present the 2022 season of Live in the Lobby: Koger Center Jazz! Experience exciting jazz concerts featuring top NYC jazz cats performing alongside local and regional jazz stars. This is a celebrated jazz series bringing New York to South Carolina. … Read more

2022 SUMMER ADULT JAZZ CAMP

What an incredible jazz camp weekend it was! Ages 18 to 78 came together to study and play jazz. We had theory classes, applied improvisation class, specialized sectional work, tons of playing in combos, masterclasses on the Alexander Technique and so much more! Our campers enjoyed extended time with world-class professional jazz musicians and highly-revered … Read more

2022 SUMMER JAZZ CAMP

It was an epic 4 days at Dreher High School where 7 combos and 3 Big Bands comprised of Middle and High School jazz cats all gathered to deep dive into JAZZ at the 2022 R1/ColaJazz Summer Jazz Camp! Students had the opportunity to play in small groups and large ensembles learning various jazz tunes, … Read more

ColaJazz Jazz in the School

ColaJazz Outreach Programs

There are some mornings when a few of us Jazz cats crawl out of bed before the sun rises. We get up and on the road to present a morning jazz concert at an elementary school located an hour away from downtown Columbia. There are some afternoons when a few jazz cats battle “Five O’clock” … Read more

Commissioned Jazz Painting at The Joint

Amos Hoffman and Mark Rapp teamed up to commission a jazz painting for The Joint at 1710 Main Street where the two perform regularly. They looked to local artist and supporter of Jazz, Ashley Berendzen. Inspired by the large images of jazz icons surrounding the stage at the famous NYC venue Smalls, Amos and Mark … Read more