Marking its 50th year in 2012 and lauded by the San Francisco Chronicle as “showcasing music’s future,” the Reno Jazz Festival at the University of Nevada, Reno has become one of the world’s largest and most enduring celebrations of jazz, with three days of concerts, competitions and clinics each spring. Hosting concerts by world-renowned jazz superstars, the festival also acts as an educational venue for some of the country’s most talented middle school, high school and college-age musicians, as thousands of students compete at the festival with their school bands, vocal groups and ensembles from around the Western states.