Dena DeRose

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Dena DeRose is a “stunningly talented pianist/vocalist” (Cadence) who has taught and performed at Stanford Jazz Workshop since 1996. Fortunately for SJW students and audiences, she has returned every year since then, even as her ever-increasing popularity as a performing and recording artist has taken her to the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals and venues, including the Blue Note, the Kennedy Center, and the North Sea and Monterey Jazz Festivals.

Dena began playing piano as a child in suburban New York, and became fascinated by jazz after discovering the music of Count Basie as a teenager. In college, she devoted herself to jazz, practicing for hours on end and making frequent trips to New York City to hear her favorite pianists. All her practicing and playing took an unexpected toll when Dena developed severe carpal tunnel syndrome, which made it impossible to play the piano. This hardship turned into a new opportunity when, on a friend’s dare, Dena took the stage and sang at a local club. By the time her piano chops had recovered, singing was an essential part of Dena’s musical life.

As a recording artist, DeRose has 14 CDs to her credit to rave reviews. Her newest, and third consecutive HighNote release Ode To The Road features the incomparable rhythm section of Martin Wind and Matt Wilson with guests jazz vocal icon Sheila Jordan, the legendary saxophonist Houston Person, and the lyrical and swinging Jeremy Pelt on trumpet. DeRose’s past releases have garnered many outstanding reviews in top jazz magazines like Downbeat, JazzTimes, JazzHot, JazzHistoryOnline, All About Jazz, The New York Record, and many other international jazz publications. She’s has been featured on many radio stations in Europe, and has garnered many excellent reviews All of DeRose’s recordings from Sharp Nine, Maxjazz, Vega, GoFour, and now HighNote, have all received no less than 4 stars from Downbeat, and have continued to gain listeners in the U.S. and abroad.

David Hart

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Dr. David Hart, a native of California, leads an international music career focusing on  both education and performance. Hart has taught and performed in the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Passionate about music teaching and learning, David completed a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music. In this degree, David has had the unique opportunity to work closely with both the music education and jazz departments while teaching undergraduate courses in jazz improvisation, jazz history, jazz theory, jazz big band, and jazz combo. He has studied performance and improvisation privately with Clay Jenkins, Harold Danko, Bill Dobbins, Dr. Christopher Azzara, and Jeff Campbell. Inspired by Dr. Christopher Azzara and Dr. Richard Grunow, David focuses his education research on ways to improve creativity in the music learning process for all styles of music.

In June of 2010, Hart accepted a full time teaching position at the Harker School in San Jose, California.  As one of the largest independent private schools on the West Coast, Harker possesses a strong performing arts program.  Dr. Hart is head of the Upper School Instrumental music program and teaches jazz band and orchestra.  Hart is also active at both the lower and middle schools as a teacher working with other instructors to create a unified music curriculum. Dr. Hart helped start the Harker Concert Series and is currently a co-artistic director.

After receiving his Masters degree in both Music Education and Jazz Studies from the Eastman School of Music, Hart accepted a position on faculty at Mahidol University, College of Music in Thailand, which maintains an international faculty and offers degrees for pre-college through graduate level students. As a Professor of Music Education and Trumpet Performance, Dr. Hart participated in both the Jazz and Classical Departments working with the wind ensemble, symphonic band, orchestra, and brass choir.  David started the first jazz trumpet studio in Thailand and helped turn the Mahidol Jazz Ensemble into one of the premier groups in Southeast Asia. Dr. Hart also taught graduate level courses in Music Education working with a diverse population of students from Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, and Malaysia.  He was the advisor for masters level research projects and taught courses on Instrumental Teaching Techniques, Introduction to Music Education, and Measurement and Evaluation.

As a jazz artist, David has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, San Francisco Jazz Festival, Rochester Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, and Stanford Jazz Festival to name a few.  He has also had the pleasure of performing, teaching, and studying with Gerald Wilson, Anthony Wilson, George Bohannon, Horace Silver, Louis Bellson, Clark Terry, Billy Higgins, Dave Liebman, Kenny Burrell, Arturo Sandoval, Ralph Alessi, Bill Berry, Rufus Reid, Jim Rotundi, Gary Bartz, Garnett Brown, Ingrid Jensen, Marvin Stamm, Dayna Stephens, Taylor Eigsti, Ted Poor, and others. As a classical performer, Dr. Hart has appeared with the Thailand Philharmonic, Malaysian International Festival Orchestra, Panang Symphony, International Trumpet Guild Festival of Trumpets, Eastman OSSIA ensembles, and Emerald Brass Quintet.

David holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from UCLA, Master of Music degree and a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman school of music.  Dr. Hart’s principal trumpet teachers include; Clay Jenkins (Eastman School of Music), Doug Prosser (Eastman School of Music), Jens Lindemann (UCLA), and Robert Karon (UCLA).

Dave Gregoric

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Very much in demand as a jazz trombonist around the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, Dave has recorded with Pete Escovedo, Andy Narrel, Buddy Montgomery, Cab Calloway, Della Reese, Smith Dobson, Ray Brown, Dave Eshelman, and the Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra. He has performed with the Temptations, Big Lou and the Polka Princess, Jimmy Heath, Confunktion, Bobby Watson, Cyndi Lauper, Gerri Allen, Sheila E., Guy Lombardo, Michael W. Smith, Louis Bellson, Steve Turre, Twyla Paris, Frankie Valle, the Drifters, Sapo, Vic Demone, Jamie Davis, Jamie Davis, Ron Konali, Martha and the Vandelas, Dick Bright’s SRO, and Little Anthony. He’s also logged time performing for Princess-Royal Norwegian-Western cruise lines, Disneyland, Marriots Great America, Circus Vargas, and the Bentley Brothers Circus.

An equally accomplished jazz educator, Dave is the director of Music at Mills High School and has also taught at the Marin School of the Arts and the Valley Christian Schools. The latter was recognized as one of the top programs in Northern California at both the middle school and high school levels, giving commanding performances at the Reno, Folsom, San Jose, Campana, and Monterey Next Generation Jazz festivals. He has also taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, Monterey Jazz Festival Summer Camp, Jazz Camp West, Graded Jazz festival (Brazil), Lafayette Summer Music Jazz Workshop, Donner Mine Jazz Camp, Osaka Jazz festival (Japan), and San Jose Jazz Society. He has adjudicated at the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival, CMEA (Central Coast and Bay section) Jazz Festivals, Folsom Jazz Festival, ACSI Music Festival, Cuesta College Jazz Festival, and Cal State Hayward Jazz Festival. Dave is always a favorite among students at Jazz Camp.

Dan Wilson

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We are very happy to welcome guitarist Dan Wilson to the faculty. Dan is one of the most exciting young guitarists working today, having made a huge mark with the trio of the late, great organist Joey DeFrancesco, as well as with Christian McBride’s Tip City.

Dan grew up in Akron, Ohio, and spent the majority of his youth within the church community, where his musical path began.

Traces of his major guitar influences – including Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, and George Benson  – are evident in his playing, but his musical identity has been shaped by everything from gospel and blues to traditional jazz and hip-hop, as well as by horn players like Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.

After graduating from Hiram College, Dan made his recording debut with pianist Joe McBride and later, his debut as a leader on To Whom It May Concern.

Dan’s career took him on an exploratory journey into the guitar and organ trio tradition, eventually leading to an invitation to perform and record with Joey DeFrancesco’s quartet, with which Wilson went on to earn a Grammy nomination for Project Freedom (Mack Avenue Records, 2017).

Dan had been playing with DeFrancesco for a few years when he met bassist, composer, and arranger Christian McBride, and went on to tour with McBride’s trio Tip City. McBride produced Dan’s most 2021 release, Vessels of Wood and Earth, and released the album on his newly-formed imprint Brother Mister Productions through Mack Avenue Music Group.

Dan has had the honor of sharing the stage with jazz greats including Eric Marienthal, Russell Malone, Les McCann, René Marie, Jeff Hamilton, David Sanborn, and Dave Stryker. He also teaches jazz guitar and music theory through private lessons.

Cory Cox

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Drummer Cory Cox is a native of Houston, TX. Inspired by his family’s passion for music, he studied privately and worked with the youth choir at his church at age eight. Developing an interest in music, he enrolled into the arts program at Johnston Middle School and The High School for The Performing and Visual Arts. Working with various ensembles and mentors that introduced him to jazz and world music, he was inspired to pursue a music career that would take him around the world. While Cory was in high school, he was selected to become a member of the Texas Music Educators Association and the Gibson Baldwin Grammy Jazz Ensemble where he performed with the High School Grammy Jazz Choir.

Gaining exposure to various music programs around the country lead to Cory receiving a scholarship from Blue Note recording artist Jason Moran to attend college and he was selected as a 2006-08 Brubeck Institute Fellow at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. As a Brubeck Fellow, he received ensemble coaching from mentors Dave Brubeck, Joe Gilman, Fred Hersch, Robert Glasper, Bob Hurst, Christian McBride, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Eric Harland, Freddie Hubbard, Nicholas Payton, Miguel Zenon and Joshua Redman. Cory credits the Brubeck institute as one the most insightful musical experiences.

After completing the two-year fellowship program, Cory moved to NYC to finish his undergrad studies at the New School University. Since moving to NY, Cory has performed and toured with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Reggie Workman, the Ben Flocks Quartet, John Ellis, Joel Frahm, Javier Vercher, Marcus Strickland, Jimmy Owens, John Raymond, the Hironobu Saito Group, Thana Pavelic, Lorenzo Conte and many others throughout the U.S, Europe, Switzerland, Croatia and Japan. Cory currently teaches privately and lead ensemble workshops at Stanford Jazz in California and Litchfield Jazz in Connecticut. He credits Jesus, his family, Keith Sanders, Sebastian Whittaker, Craig Green, Conrad Johnson, Warren Sneed and his peers as his greatest inspiration.

Christopher Sullivan

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Dr. Christopher Sullivan is an indispensable member of the SJW family, having been head counsellor at Jazz Camp and Jazz Institute for many years, as well as a frequent performer at SJW jams and noon concerts.

He recently returned to his native San Francisco Bay Area to put his talents as a saxophonist, composer, and educator to work. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Performance and Music Education from the University of Southern California. While pursuing his D.M.A., Chris worked as a teaching assistant for director Bob Mintzer, leading undergraduate and graduate courses in improvisation, composition, small ensemble, and jazz orchestra. He has studied privately with Roy McCurdy, Rich Perry, Bob Mintzer, Vincent Herring, Bob Sheppard, and Dayna Stephens.

Dr. Sullivan also holds a M.M. from William Paterson University and a B.M. from the California Jazz Conservatory. Chris also teaches at the Glendale Community College, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, and currently serves as Chair of the Musicianship Department at the California Jazz Conservatory, where he teaches ear training, improvisation, and private lessons. He is active in the Los Angeles and San Francisco music scenes, appearing on several albums currently in circulation, including Michael Buble’s most recent album, “Love.”

Christina Galisatus

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Pianist and composer Christina Galisatus is an SJW family member, having practically grown up in SJW’s summer and after-school programs. Her development into a composer and recording artist has made her an even more popular faculty member than she already was — and she was already one of the favorites!

After the release of her debut single “Root” featuring Jeff Parker, Christina Galisatus has quickly established herself as an up-and-coming artist and composer. Following the success of six more singles, she released her debut album Without Night in 2023. Christina has developed a strong compositional voice, with songs that blur the lines between genres and feature lyrical melodies, all emphasized with her ability to express herself as a pianist. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area in a musical family, Christina graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Jazz Piano Performance. Christina is now based in Los Angeles where she writes, performs, records, and teaches music in a variety of settings.

Caroline Davis

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Mobile since her birth in Singapore, composer, saxophonist, and educator Caroline Davis now lives in Brooklyn, New York. After making her mark on the Chicago jazz community during her 8-year stint, she moved to New York in 2013, and has proven to be an active leader and sidewoman in the national jazz scene.

She has shared musical moments with a diverse group of musicians, from jazz to mainstream, including Matt Wilson, Ellis Marsalis, Matt Mitchell, Randy Brecker, Bobby Broom, Greg Saunier, Ron Miles, Dennis Carroll, Erin McKeown, Allison Miller, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Billy Kaye. Aside from her own quintet, she collaborates regularly with R&B indie band, Maitri, and has been a regular member of many outfits including Whirlpool, Fatbook, Deep Fayed, Matt Mitchell’s Sprees, Billy Kaye Quintet, Paul Bedal Quintet, Orso, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Caili O’Doherty Group, Dion Kerr Group, Elliot Ross, and Materials and Their Destiny.

Today, Caroline’s music covers a wide range of styles, owed to this shifting environment. As a leader, she has released eight albums: Live Work & Play (2012), Doors: Chicago Storylines (2015), Heart Tonic (2018), Alula (2019), Anthems (2019), Portals, Vol. 1: Mourning (2021), Alula: Captivity (2023), and Portals, Vol.2: Returning (2024). Her active projects include jazz-leaning Portals, experimental R&B My Tree, and protest band Alula. She has won Downbeat’s Critic’s Poll Rising Star Alto-Saxophonist (2018) and has been included in numerous Reader and Critics Polls. Her work has garnered much praise from NPR, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Wire, DownBeat, and many international publications.

As an educator, Caroline brings her unique knowledge of music and psychology to her teaching, as she acquired a Ph.D. in Music Cognition at Northwestern University in 2010. She has been on the faculty at Litchfield Jazz Camp for the past 10 years, and has been a guest educator at Northwestern University, University of Colorado at Boulder, St. Xavier University, Columbia College, DePaul University, University of Texas at Arlington, Loyola University, Texas Tech, New Trier High School, Evanston Township High School, Denver School of the Arts, Newman Smith High School, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. She has also participated in several jazz mentorship programs, including IAJE’s Sisters in Jazz and the Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program.

Caili O’Doherty

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New York-based pianist, composer, arranger and educator, Caili O’Doherty is known for integrating structures of language in both her compositions and her approach to improvisation. Her recent music focuses on the celebration, preservation, and expansion upon the achievements of jazz’s unsung women heroes. O’Doherty has received national awards for piano performance and composition from the ASCAP Foundation and Downbeat Magazine.

Praised by All About Jazz for its “exquisitely forged, dramatic and darkly hued pieces”, O’Doherty’s debut release Padme (ODO Records, 2015) uses lyrics to give the melodies a natural rhythm of language. Padme was selected as a Downbeat Magazine Editor’s pick and received a 4-star review in All About Jazz. She was invited to write a Woodshed Article for the Keyboard School section of Downbeat Magazine’s September 2015 issue on the topic “Using Language as a Tool for Composing and Improvising”.

Quarantine Dream (Posi-Tone Records, 2022) was O’Doherty’s second release as a leader and featured her quartet, Tamir Shmerling on bass, Cory Cox on drums, and Nicole Glover on tenor saxophone. Quarantine Dream showcases eight original compositions and three influential songs reinterpreted by O’Doherty. The album release was followed by a U.S. CD release tour with support from a Jazz Road grant from South Arts.

Bluer Than Blue (Outside In Music, 2025) is the latest release from O’Doherty, and features her arrangements of compositions by pianist, composer, and vocalist Lil Hardin Armstrong. Bluer Than Blue was recorded live at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and was funded in part by a Presenters Consortium for Jazz grant from Chamber Music America.

The Caili O’Doherty Quintet was selected by the U.S. Department of State as one of ten ensembles to participate in the 2022-23 American Music Abroad U.S. State Department tour to the Republic of Georgia and Canada. Also in 2022, O’Doherty was one of ten artists to receive a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant, which funds the creation of a new original work. O’Doherty’s CMA New Jazz Work entitled “Suite for Gearoidin” premiered at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Bar Bayeux, and Birdland Jazz Club and will be released as an album in 2026.

O’Doherty has performed with various jazz groups at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Smoke Jazz Club (with saxophonist Antonio Hart), Kimmel Center (opening for pianist Martial Solal), Toronto Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival (opening for the Wayne Shorter Quartet), Portland Jazz Festival, Guinness Cork Jazz Festival in Ireland, Dominican Republic Jazz Festival, MICI International Film Festival in Mexico, Stanford Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, and UNESCO First International Jazz Day in Paris, as well as two US State Dept. supported tours to Colombia and Togo and Benin in West Africa. She was also selected as one of five female jazz pianists invited to participate in the inaugural Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Emerging Artists Workshop held at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and to perform at a showcase concert at the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival.

Her touring history includes two west coast tours in support of O’Doherty’s album Padme with her NYC quartet, a duo tour in China with saxophonist Hailey Niswanger, a collective tour with saxophonist Caroline Davis throughout the Midwest with the Davis + O’Doherty Quartet, and a tour in Israel with saxophonist Lihi Haruvi.
O’Doherty is currently on the faculty at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Additionally, she is on the faculty at Jazz House Kids and Savannah Music Festival Jazz Academy. She is an Artist Instructor for Open Studio Pro, a prestigious online jazz lesson platform, as well as maintaining a robust private teaching studio of her own. O’Doherty has been a faculty member at the Stanford Jazz Workshop since 2012, as well as faculty at the University of Wisconsin Madison Summer Music Clinic and Litchfield Jazz Camp.

She holds a Bachelor of Music in performance from Berklee College of Music (BM ’13) and a Master of Music in performance from Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College (MM ’19).

Beth Schenck

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Beth Schenck is a San Francisco based saxophonist, composer and educator. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2013, Beth has become a distinguished performer in the West Coast jazz, improvised and chamber music scenes. Her current projects as a leader/composer include works for solo saxophone, her saxophone quartet Social Stutter (Kasey Knudsen, Phillip Greenlief, Cory Wright),  Beth Schenck Quintet (with Cory Wright, Matt Wrobel, Lisa Mezzacappa, and Jordan Glenn) and House of Faern (Jenny Scheinman, Matthew Wrobel and John Wood). Each of these projects showcase Beth’s versatility and commitment to pushing musical boundaries.

As a composer, Beth has written music for the Sunset Jazz Festival (Nagasaki, Japan), Women’s Work Festival (New York City), Outsound Summit (SF), Silla Festival (Korea) and schools in NYC, LA and SF. Beth’s music has been described by critics as “frank and beautiful” (Greg Burk), “reliably enthralling” and “transporting” (Andrew Gilbert). “Above and Below”, Beth’s solo album, is out now on Innova Records.

In addition to her performance and composition career, Beth is the Director of Performing Arts at the San Francisco Day School, where she also leads the jazz band. Her dedication to jazz education extends to her role as the middle school representative for the California Alliance for Jazz, where she advocates for jazz education statewide.

For more about Beth’s projects and performances, visit bethschenck.com.