About the Festival

The 21st annual Berks Jazz Fest is presented by the Berks Arts Council located in Reading, PA.

The mission of the Berks Arts Council is to encourage and promote all the arts, to develop an appreciation of the arts and to enrich and enhance the quality of life through education, presentation and collaborations with other arts organizations.

Chris Cannon is the executive director, with Theodore Bassano serving as president of the board and chairperson of the festival. 

VF Outlet Berks Jazz Fest Staff

Berks Arts Council:
Chris Cannon, executive director, ccannon@berksjazzfest.com
Gary Spencer, spencer@berksjazzfest.com
Beth Renfro, brenfro@berksjazzfest.com
Bob Coleman, bcoleman@berksjazzfest.com

Festival general manager:
John Ernesto, jernesto@readingeagle.com

Talent coordination/booking:
John Ernesto, jernesto@readingeagle.com
Gary Spencer, spencer@berksjazzfest.com

Production manager:
Gary Spencer, spencer@berksjazzfest.com

Publicity director:
Dana L. Hoffman, dhoffman@readingeagle.com

Sponsorship development:
Craig Rosenfeld, Jim Landrigan, Bernie Gerber, John Ernesto

Ticketing: SMG

Transportation manager:
John Graff, JGG54@aim.com

Youth/Educational Activities:
Chris Heslop, chris@chrisheslop.com
Shannon Sunday, Doug Matz, Andrea Stover, Al Seifarth, Doc Mulligan, Rick Dietrich, Charlie DiCarne, Dustin Shirk, Dan Long, Mike Eben, Carl Zeplin