Leigh
Pilzer
Schedule
Recent Highlights
Description
The Capitol Hill Jazz Foundation proudly hosts the 5th Annual D.C. Jazz Leaders in Service Awards Gala in which we honor six leaders from the Washington, D.C. music industry who have dedicated their lives to presenting, promoting, educating and performing Jazz music.
2023 honorees
Steve Novosel-Legendary Bassist
Warren SHADD-Drummer and World’s First African American Piano Manufacturer, Inventor
Paul Carr-Saxophonist, educator and festival director of the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival
Allison Crockett-Acclaimed Jazz Vocalist
Kim Jordan-Internationally performing Pianist former pianist of Gil Scott Heron band
Leigh Pilzer-Acclaimed Baritone Saxophonist
Leigh Pilzer
Honoree
Dates
Description
Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center combine forces for an epic co-production of the award-winning musical Fela!, the first professional production anywhere in the world since its national tour more than ten years ago. It’s 1978, and we meet musician, activist, and global superstar Fela Anikulapo Kuti at his farewell show at the Afrika Shrine nightclub in Lagos, Nigeria. After losing his own mother in a dictator’s violent attack, Fela’s final act in Nigeria is to use his iconic music—a spirited blend of traditional African drumming, jazz, and funk—to tell his story of survival and global revolution through Afrobeat and floor-shaking dance. The Tony Award-winning and Grammy-nominated musical “captures the spirit of rebellion…that dwells within all of us” (The New York Times) in the inspiring true story of one man’s fight against corruption and oppression.
Leigh Pilzer
Baritone saxophone
Dates
Description
The DC Jazz Festival® (DCJF) organization provides enriching and entertaining jazz performances and programs that introduce students and adults from all walks of life to jazz, our nation’s singular original art form. DCJF presents a selection of the jazz genre’s most acclaimed artists as well as emerging artists, and provides enhanced exposure for the rich treasure trove of musicians from the Washington, DC area.
Throughout the year, DCJF nourishes the community with music education programs that extend our reach into underserved communities and enhance the quality of life for DC public and charter school students. Our signature programs are the annual DC JazzFest, presented since 2005; the free-round, year-round, DCJF Education Program, which gets kids “jazzed” about learning; the Charles Fishman Embassy Series, which showcases emerging and established artists; and DCJazzPrix, our international jazz band competition. DCJazzFest has grown in size and stature each year. The virtual 2020 DC JazzFest attracted a record-breaking 200,000+ attendees of all ages, ethnicities and income levels.
Mission
The mission of the DC Jazz Festival (DCJF), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is to:
Present internationally world-renowned and emerging artists in celebration of jazz;
Unify diverse communities and enable connections between artists and audience year-round;
Advance jazz and music education by providing exciting, adventurous and diverse musical experiences for audiences of all ages and backgrounds in the greater DC area as well as out-of-town visitors;
Provide performance opportunities for DC-based jazz musicians; and
Highlight DC as a major and vibrant center for jazz, and as a premier cultural destination
Our signature programs are the annual DCJazzFest™, presented annually since 2005; the year-round DCJF Education Program, established in 2008; the Charles Fishman Embassy Series, established in 2012; and DCJazzPrix™, established in 2015.
A copy of our 990 for the 2021 fiscal year can be found here.
Goals
To present exciting, adventurous and diverse programming for all ages and backgrounds
To create exceptional festival experiences
To provide free, innovative music education programming for children and adults
To honor the District’s rich legacy of jazz
To develop year-round, multi-year dynamic partnerships
To highlight DC JazzFest as a premier destination for jazz
To ensure organizational sustainability alongside artistic excellence
Awards
The DC Jazz Honors Award
Each year, as part of its mission, the DC Jazz Festival honors jazz greats for their extra-ordinary contributions to jazz and humanity. The DC Jazz Honors Award is bestowed to an individual who serves as a jazz ambassador in service to good will and cultural diplomacy. Previous awardees include Quincy Jones, Ron Carter, Kenny Barron, Charles Fishman, Ellis Marsalis, Dave Brubeck, Roy Haynes, Chucho Valdes, Sadao Watanabe, Clark Terry, Dr. Billy Taylor, James Moody, Eddie Palmieri, George T. Wein, Buck Hill, Hank Jones, and more.
Leigh Pilzer
Leader, baritone saxophone, composer
Dates
Biography
Leigh Pilzer is a Washington DC-based saxophonist, arranger, and educator. Her combo has been featured at many of DC’s top jazz venues including Blues Alley, Keystone Korner, Twins Jazz, Westminster Presbyterian, the Atlas Performing Arts Center, Jazz at the Garden, the Mansion at Strathmore, and Jazz at Wesley, to name just a few. She has toured both domestically and internationally as a member of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, and often performs with the National Symphony Orchestra at concerts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and on the orchestra’s nationally televised PBS holiday specials.
Leigh is a gifted arranger whose work is in the libraries of the SJMO, DIVA, the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra, the DC-area premier military jazz ensembles, and college and professional jazz ensembles and brass quintets throughout the country. A number of her arrangements can be heard on recordings by DIVA, including her original composition “East Coast Andy,” the opening track on The DIVA Jazz Orchestra 25th Anniversary Project (2018). Other arranging credits include horn section writing for recordings by Chuck Brown and Eva Cassidy and orchestrations for the critically acclaimed show Maurice Hines Tappin’ Thru Life.
Leigh holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance with Jazz Emphasis from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia; Master’s degrees in Jazz Studies and Saxophone Performance from The University of Maryland, College Park; and a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Composition and Arranging from the Berklee College of Music. Leigh has served on the faculties of the University of Maryland, Towson University, and George Mason University, where she has taught Jazz Theory, Jazz Arranging, Jazz History, and Fundamentals of Rock, Blues, and Jazz.
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