ED- 2026 Youth Vocal Jazz Competition - Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation

Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation
2026 Youth Vocal Jazz Competition
presented by Bingham Legal

 
We are seeking nominations of talented young jazz vocalists to participate in the 10th annual Detroit Jazz Festival Youth Vocal Jazz Competition presented by Bingham Legal. After the nomination process is completed, several finalists will be chosen. Each finalist will perform two jazz standards with a professional jazz trio at the event finals-week of July 30th, 2026 at a prominent jazz venue in metropolitan Detroit. Past events have been held at the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe and Cliff Bell's.
 
A panel of judges made up of renowned Detroit vocal jazz talent and  Chris Collins (DJF Artistic Director) will select a grand prize winner and up to three runners-up. Vocalists will be judged based on artistic excellence, creativity, technique, and originality. 


Grand Prize: 
$1000 cash award
A performance spot at the Detroit Jazz Festival
Additional coaching for the Detroit Jazz Festival performance (Labor Day weekend)
Runners-up:
(Maximum of 3)
$500 cash award

This application will provide a portal to all middle and high school jazz vocalists interested in performing at the 2026 Detroit Jazz Festival.



ELIGIBILITY:
  • This application is for jazz vocalists in middle school or high school.
  • Parent permission is required, please include parent contact information on this form.
  • The vocalist must be available to perform at the 2026 Detroit Jazz Festival should they be chosen.

PROCESS:
  • Nominations from vocal teacher/coach must be received by noon on July 14th, 2026. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
  • With the application, each director can upload up to 2 audio tracks that highlight the best of the vocalist’s work this past year (each track should not exceed 7 minutes; edit or clip if necessary) and a recommendation letter from the teacher.
  • Professional jazz artists and jazz educators will review the audio tracks blind and choose the top  vocalist who will perform at the 2026 Detroit Jazz Festival.
  • Optional: Please include in the form a summary of what special circumstances might apply to your vocalist (e.g. they have been recognized in any competitions, have performed in public or school events, etc.). 
  • Selected vocalists will be notified by Friday, July 18th.

Vocal teacher/coach must complete and submit the form below:

Student Information
First Name
Last Name
Email
Date of Birth
Nominated By
Track 1 - mandatory
(MAX SIZE 5MB)
Track 2 - optional
(MAX SIZE 5MB)
Parent Contact Information
Vocal Instructor Information