On Thursday, July 10, 2025, at 9:00 PM, a free public concert in Piazza IV Novembre, Perugia, will officially open the new edition of Umbria Jazz Festival, scheduled from July 11 to 20.

The concert will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics program. It will be conducted by Dave Limina, Chair of the Piano Department at Berklee College of Music in Boston and Academic Director of the Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics.

On stage, a lineup of world-renowned jazz musicians will perform, including prominent Berklee faculty and alumni: bassist Matthew Garrison, pianist and composer Mathis Picard, vocalist and arranger Daniela Spalletta, saxophonist Marco Guidolotti, jazz guitarist Daniele Cordisco, pianist Alessandro Lanzoni, drummer Roberto Giaquinto, and the young drummer Antonio Lo Conte.

The event is also a tribute to the educational and cultural value of the collaboration between Berklee and Umbria Jazz, which began in 1985. Over the past 40 years, nearly 7,000 students from around the world have participated in this unique learning experience.

The Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics will take place in Perugia from July 8 to 20, hosting 220 high school and university students for an intensive program based on the Berklee method. The classes and ensemble activities focus on jazz and other contemporary improvisational styles rooted in the Pan-African diaspora, as a foundation for musical understanding.

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