We love to play big band music! We believe that it’s important to keep this unique American art form alive, bringing joy to young and old alike in public venues with concerts and dances. Our talented musicians perform big band music from the 1930s to the present, memorializing the legacies of great band leaders like Glenn Miller and Count Basie, and iconic vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.
To further promote big band music, SwingMasters sponsors jazz improvisation clinics in local high schools, and we invite students to "sit in" for rehearsals and performances. We are proud to perform in support of other non-profit organizations, and we especially enjoy playing for swing dance groups.
In 2024, the Swingmasters big band performed for no fee or at discounted rates on eleven occasions. Notable gigs included a benefit crab feed, a fund-raiser for a historic Placerville church renovation, and performances for community gatherings. We were proud to perform twice for Midtown Stomp, where up to 100 young people enjoyed the opportunity to dance to swing music of the 1940s to the 1960s. The Swingmasters also performed in concert with the American River College jazz band.
Our mission is to promote public awareness and education about the “big band” style of music, and to support other charitable and/or educational tax-exempt organizations.
Our objectives are to:
Support the Swingmasters big band. This objective includes providing insurance, rehearsal facilities and music, and providing low-cost entertainment for activities of other fund-raising organizations.
Promote big band music in schools. The Swingmasters big band offers to play for school events, invites students to “sit in,” shares its music library, and sponsors jazz improvisation workshops at local high schools.
Support other local adult big bands through sharing our music library and mailing lists, and promoting other bands via social media.
Develop venues for big band performances, working with facility managers.
We are a 501.c.3 charitable organization.
Our basic funding needs are to: provide liability insurance, maintain our music library and website, pay our Music Director's salary, pay educators to conduct improvisation clinics, pay professional musicians to substitute for regular band members, and reimburse volunteer band member expenses. We may also have to pay for rehearsal space or to perform in public festivals.
Our annual expenses in 2024 were about $7,000.
Our performance fees for non-profits and public venues (typically less than the fee for a DJ) leave little room for expanding our jazz improvisation clinics or providing volunteer reimbursement.
Our priorities for funding beyond our current budget are:
1) to expand our jazz improvisation clinics to more high and middle schools in the Sacramento region. The cost of providing expert instruction is about $200 per clinic. Due to illnesses, we were unable to conduct improv clinics in 2024; we have requested proposals to conduct at least three clinics in 2025.
2) to reimburse band members for expenses incurred for gigs. In 2024, we were able to do so for four major performances. In addition, we offered regular band members a year-end expense reimbursement for up to 40 rehearsals.
An expanded annual budget of $8,000 would allow us to offer jazz improvisation clinics to four high school or middle school jazz programs, and to ensure that band members receive expense reimbursement for our usual performance schedule.
Musicians in the Swingmasters big band are selected solely based upon their abilities and willingness to serve. In addition to our regular members, we invite young people and adults from a pool of qualified substitutes to join our rehearsals and performances.
Organization name
Swingmasters Big Band Promotion Organization
2012
Tax id (EIN)
46-1727307
Mission Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Operating Budget
$0-$50,000
Organization Need
Funding: Program
Local Counties Served
Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Yolo
Address
725 JOHNNY FRY COURTSacramento County, CA, US
Placer County, CA, US
El Dorado County, CA, US
Yolo County, CA, US