2026 International Jazz Band
The Blue Lake International Jazz Band is comprised of talented and inspired young musicians and performs a full range of traditional and contemporary jazz band works. In 2026, the International Jazz Band will perform selections to include music from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakely, and many others.
Each of the groups in the Blue Lake International Exchange Program will visit six host communities in 2–3 European countries with several group excursions throughout the trip. Tentative countries for the 2026 Jazz Band are France and Germany, but the tour may expand depending on invitations. Final tour schedules will not be available until the late spring.
Dates
Sunday, November 9, 2025 – Rehearsal Day
(8:00am – 4:00pm)
Sunday, April 19, 2026 – Rehearsal Day
(8:00am – 4:00pm)
Friday, May 15 – Sunday, May 17, 2026 – Intensive Rehearsal Weekend
(arrive 7pm)
Friday, June 12 – Friday, June 19, 2026 – Intensive Rehearsal Week
(arrive 7pm)
Friday, June 19, 2026 – Depart from Blue Lake for Europe!
(Ensemble departs from either Chicago or Detroit to Paris CDG)
Friday, July 10, 2026 – Return flight to U.S.
(Ensemble returns to same port of departure. Parents meet students at airport)
Saturday, July 11, 2026 – Homecoming Celebration Day at Blue Lake!
(12pm – 9pm) (Parents bring students to Blue Lake)
Tuition
Tuition includes supervision and instruction, room and board on camp prior to departure, airfare, coach travel in Europe, and several excursions en route. The cost of 2026 tuition is $6,890, with a minimum $750 deposit due at time of enrollment. Scholarships are available for tour alumni and those who have attended Blue Lake as a camper in the 2025 season. Financial need and instrumentation scholarships may also be available in some circumstances.
Director
Tom Polett
Conductor & Tour Director
For over thirty years, Dr. Tom Polett has been a versatile and active performer as a trombone and euphonium soloist, orchestral musician, jazz artist, chamber musician, and church musician. He has performed with the Quincy (IL), Southeast Iowa, Asheville (NC), Greenville (SC), Charlotte (FL), and Arizona Ballet Orchestras among others. In 1995, he served as the Principal Trombonist of the Orvieto Musica Chamber Orchestra in Italy. As a chamber musician, he has performed and recorded with a number of ensembles, including the Aurora Brass Quintet at the International Brass Festival in Italy. As a jazz artist, he has appeared numerous times as a featured soloist for jazz festivals around the U.S., and has performed alongside a long list of internationally acclaimed jazz artists. Before coming to Aquinas College, Dr. Polett held similar positions at Culver-Stockton College (MO), Limestone College (SC), Georgia College and State University, and others. He was also a core faculty Member of the Missouri Fine Arts Academy for 18 summers, a Governor’s School of the Arts held at Missouri State University.
Dr. Polett is in high demand as a guest conductor, clinician, and educator. He has published articles in the International Trombone Association Journal, the Tuba and Euphonium Brotherhood Association Journal, and the Journal of Performing Arts Leadership in Higher Education. Dr. Polett has taught or performed in over 20 countries Including Italy, Germany, Austria, Russia, Finland, Estonia, Hungary, and Cuba.
Dr. Polett’s teacher/mentors include Steve McEuen, Philip Jameson, Gail Wilson, Gerry Pagano, and Joe Alessi. He received a Bachelor of Music Education at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania with a minor in Jazz Studies, earned a Master of Music in Trombone Performance at Arizona State University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Trombone Performance with an emphasis in Music Theory at the University of Georgia. Dr. Polett has conducted jazz bands for three years at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. This is his first tour with the International Jazz Band.
