Join the instrumental Jazz Ensembles at CWU for the annual John Moawad Memorial Jazz Festival, May 7-8, 2026! This year's headlining artist is NYC Percussionist Bobby Sanabria! Registration/check in on the days of the festival is in the Jerilyn S. McIntyre Music Building rotunda. The festival will start at approximately 8:30 a.m. and end at approximately 6:00 p.m. each day.

The CWU John Moawad Jazz Festival is a non-competitive sharing of music between instrumental jazz ensembles is open to all college, high school and middle school jazz bands. Groups will be adjudicated (ratings by request) and given clinics. No awards will be made for ensemble performance. Ensembles will be given feedback in clinic form of approximately 20-25 minutes with an adjudicator following each performance.

Central’s top jazz ensembles will perform at the end of the day with a guest artist during which outstanding musicians from the day will be recognized. Large ensembles should be comprised of at least 12 members with a maximum of 30 members. Groups smaller than 12 will be considered combos. There will be no combo division for this year's festival, however, combos may enter the festival and be adjudicated.

Bobby Sanabria is a seven-time Grammy-nominated artist as a bandleader. A renowned drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, conductor, producer, educator, documentary filmmaker, and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent, he was born and raised in New York’s South Bronx.
Sanabria has performed and recorded with legendary artists including Mario Bauzá, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaría, Paquito D’Rivera, Ray Barretto, Chico O’Farrill, Henry Threadgill, Luis “Perico” Ortiz, Daniel Ponce, Jon Faddis, Randy Brecker, and many others.
He has an extensive discography as a leader, with several Grammy-nominated albums to his credit, including Live & in Clave!!!, 50 Years of Mambo: A Tribute to Pérez Prado, and Big Band Urban Folktales.
Sanabria currently directs the Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra at the Manhattan School of Music. Under his leadership, the ensemble has produced multiple Grammy-nominated recordings.