The JAZZ HOUSE Big Band directed by Nathan Eklund is part of the JAZZ HOUSE Pre-College Academy, an award-winning flagship training program providing expansive instruction for advanced students from across the region. The Academy is held on Sunday afternoons throughout the school year, and helps students take their musicianship to the next level. Many JAZZ HOUSE Big Band students go on to attend world-class conservatories and prestigious academic institutions with significant merit-based music scholarships and are recognized on today’s jazz scene as tomorrow’s rising stars. In 2025, the esteemed band competed in several national competitions including the Charles Mingus Festival & High School Competition and Essentially Ellington at Jazz at Lincoln Center.