Trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, one of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s global ambassadors, is serving as Director of the Tri-C JazzFest Academy, working to discover and nurture jazz talent in Northeast Ohio. Since his own early training at Tri-C, he graduated from Juilliard and launched his career with a run of eight albums. He performs regularly around the world.

The performance at BOP STOP will feature a new generation of Cleveland jazz musicians - students from Tri-C’s JazzFest Academy:

• Thomas Schinabeck, alto sax
• Burt Hall, tenor sax
• Jonah Benchek, piano
• Graeham Guerin, bass
• Tim Picard, guitar
• Gabe Jones, Cameron Burton, Samantha Rosselot, drums

Trumpeter Dominick Farinacci has been recently credited the title Global Ambassador to Jazz at Lincoln Center by Wynton Marsalis, working to further integrate jazz into communities around the world. He graduated from The Juilliard School in 2005 launching his career in Japan with a prolific run of eight albums, later releasing two more globally. He has performed in more than 120 cities in 14 countries around the world, was a featured guest on ABC’s Good Morning America, and is a TED Speaker. Music icon Quincy Jones says of Dominick’s accomplishments in performance, recording, education & advocacy, “This kid is 360 degrees!”

His most recent recording “Short Stories” is produced by Tommy LiPuma. This is Tommy & Dominick’s first collaboration, and was recorded in their hometown of Cleveland at the Gill and Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts.

In addition to touring around the world with his band, Dominick has been successful in his personal endeavors on bringing music into the community through Arts and Wellness & Education. He was invited by TED to be a TED Speaker at the 2014 TED MED conference at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

The Tri-C JazzFest Academy gives students the opportunity to develop their skills and perform in both large and small ensembles through rehearsals that focus on music history, theory and improvisation. Students participate in workshops lead by national artists throughout the year and during Tri-C JazzFest. The semester will end with a public performance and selected ensembles will perform at local venues around town. The spring 2019 semester runs January 26 – May 11. Visit www.tri-c.edu/creative-arts-academy or call 216-987-6145 for more information.