This events calendar includes Earl’s upcoming performances, compositional debuts, recordings and educational activities. On mobile devices this calendar is best viewed horizontally.
Upcoming Gigs
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Wed17Dec2025
Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra - Private Function
5:30 - 9:30PMUnion League, 1032 Chapel St, New Haven, CT
Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra -
Sun21Dec2025
Steven Bulmer Trio - Jazz Brunch
10 AM - 1 PM
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 600 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103
Steven Bulmer - string bass, Scott Sasanecki - guitar, Earl MacDonald - piano
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Thu15Jan2026
US Coast Guard Band - "Jazz Day"
12:30pm - 1pmLeamy Concert Hall, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 15 Mohegan Ave., New London, CT 06320
Earl will appear as a guest artist with the Guardians Big Band for the U.S. Coast Guard’s “Jazz Day,” a special event that brings together school jazz bands for performances and educational workshops. -
Thu05Feb2026Fri06Feb2026
UConn High School Jazz Festival
9 AM - 6 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking]
The annual UConn Jazz Festival is a non-competitive and educationally-rewarding experience that provides a forum for mutual support of each ensemble’s efforts while enhancing skills in the jazz idiom. Highlights of the festival include:
- a twenty-minute performance time for each ensemble,
- a twenty-minute personalized clinic by a UConn Jazz faculty member,
- beginning, intermediate, and advanced level improvisation master classes, and
- a mini-concert by the UConn Jazz Ensemble and UConn Jazz faculty.
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Thu05Mar2026
Massachusetts Association for Jazz Education (MAJE) Judging
TBACentral District II - Senior District Festival
Algonquin Regional High School, 79 Bartlett St, Northborough, MA 01532
Panel with Nate Jorgensen and Jeff Leonard.
Snow date: 3/6 -
Sat14Mar2026
2026 Clark Terry UNH Jazz Festival - Adjudicator
7:30 AM - 5:30 PMUniversity of New Hampshire, College of Liberal Arts, Department of Music, Paul Creative Arts Center, 30 Academic Way Durham, NH 03824-2617
Earl will serve as an adjudicator at the 2026 Clark Terry UNH Jazz Festival on Saturday, March 14th, 2026. He will provide written and verbal comments and post performance clinics for participating ensembles. -
Tue07Apr2026
Jazz & Justice Suite: A Declaration in Seven Movements
8PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $10.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.
Jazz & Justice Suite: A Declaration in Seven Movements is an original jazz suite composed and performed by UConn Jazz faculty. This powerful artistic statement explores human rights through music, with each movement inspired by an article from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and honoring a historical figure or movement. Through composition, narration, and improvisation, each piece interprets a specific human rights issue—from racial justice and political participation to gender equality, environmental advocacy, and the right to education. This suite responds musically to the call for justice, offering a deeply personal, expressive, and intellectually compelling experience.
Performing musicians: Earl MacDonald – piano, Leala Cyr – voice, John Mastroianni – saxophones, Louis Hanzlik – trumpet, Evan Gray – trombone, Scott Sasanecki – guitar, Steven Bulmer – string bass, Jonathan Barber – drums.
Emcee: James Waller, Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice Director, Dodd Human Rights Impact Programs Professor, Literatures, Cultures, & Languages
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Sun12Apr2026
UConn Jazz Lab Band
3:00 - 4:30 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $10.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.Earl MacDonald, director
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Sun19Apr2026
UConn Jazz Combos
3 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $10.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.Steven Bulmer, director
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Wed22Apr2026
UConn Music "Spectrum Concert"
8:00 - 9:30 PMJorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, Storrs, CT
Wednesday, April 22, at 8:00 p.m., at the Jorgenson Center for the Performing Arts, the UConn Music Department will be performing the 2026 Spectrum Concert! The Spectrum Concert will be featuring multiple ensembles such as the Percussion Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Choir, Pep Band, and more! Admission is $15. Tickets can be purchased online at: https://jorgensen.uconn.edu/Online/default.asp -
Sun26Apr2026
UConn Jazz Ensemble
6 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $10.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.John Mastroianni, director
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Mon13Jul2026Fri17Jul2026
Jazz In July Summer Music Program
Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Jazz in July is a multi-generational jazz improvisation program with an impressive 40+ year history. It is a concentrated two-week program where both vocal and instrumental musicians study jazz improvisation with some of the nation’s best jazz educators and artists.The 2-week in-person program will run July 13-24, 2025. Earl will teach during the first week: July 13-17.
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Fri24Jul2026
Jazz in July All-Stars Concert
5:30 - 9PMAmherst Common, Amherst, MA
The Jazz-in-July All-Stars Concert is a round-robin style concert featuring collaborations between the nationally and internationally known Jazz in July faculty members.Although subject to change, the anticipated roster of performers includes:Vocals: Dominique Eade
Brass: Jeff Holmes, Haneef Nelson
Saxophone: Bruce Diehl, Frank Newton
Piano: Earl MacDonald, Luis Perdomo, Stephen Page
Bass: Fumi Tomita, Avery Sharpe, Genevieve Rose
Guitar: Bob Ferrier
Drums: Steve Johns, Winard Harper, Greg CaputoThis concert is presented in cooperation with the Amherst Business Improvement District as part of their summer concert series.
