Occidental College 2025 Screening

Please join us for an evening celebrating the recent gift from the Ray & Vera Conniff Foundation to create the Ray Conniff Oxy Jazz Ensemble Endowed Fund, which will ensure the vitality and growth of our jazz program for the future.

Choi Auditorium:

6:45-7:45 Screening of the 2024 documentary A Life in Rhythm: The Ray Conniff Story

7:45-8:00: Q&A with Tamara Conniff, '93, member of the John Branca Institute for Music Advisory Council

Johnson Hall Atrium:

8:00-8:15: Performance of Conniff arrangements "'S Wonderful" and "Bésame Mucho" by the Oxy Jazz Ensemble and Glee Club

8:15-9:00: Reception

Kaufman Center 2025 Screening

An evening celebrating the life and musical legacy of musician Ray Conniff featuring a screening of the documentary A Life In Rhythm: The Ray Conniff Story by director Jonathan McHugh. The evening will also feature live performances by students from Kaufman Music Center's Lucy Moses School Adult Division as well as renditions of Conniff’s works by musicians from the Center's Special Music School jazz ensembles.

The film chronicles the life and legacy of Ray Conniff. From his beginnings as a trombonist/arranger during the heyday of swing working with Bunny Berigan, Bob Crosby and Artie Shaw to his acclaim as the leader of his own orchestra and chorus, Grammy winner Ray Conniff is among the few musicians to have had a successful career that spanned 65 years. He recorded over 100 studio albums, selling over 70 million copies, and created the “Ray Conniff Sound” by being the first to use voices to double as instruments on his recordings. Through personal interviews and vibrant performances, this is a heartfelt tribute to an international musical legend whose melodies continue to inspire.

Woodstock Film Festival 2025 Screening

Following the screening the Q&A will be moderated by BMI’s Vice President, Creative, Film, TV & Visual Media; Tracy Mcknight featuring the films New Yorker born and bred director Jonathan McHugh, producer and Ray Conniff’s daughter Tamara and the films Woodstock based composer David Kitay.

After the brief Q&A, local orchestral musicians/singers from the Woodstock community and Bard College will perform a short set of Ray Conniff’s classic arrangements music directed and conducted by Kitay.

The show will close with New York City based DJ Javi performing a brief set of remixed versions of Ray's songs that have been sampled by new artists as well as featured in films & TV commercials as well. 

The set will close with an original DJ Javi remix world premiered that night! 

This show is a perfect musical combination of the best of music of the 50’s- 70’s (when Ray topped the charts and sold millions of albums) updated into the contemporary music of 2024.

Grammy Museum 2024 Screening

Join us for a special screening of A Life in Rhythm: The Ray Conniff Story at the GRAMMY Museum, celebrating the legacy of one of American music’s most innovative arrangers. The event will feature a panel discussion with Tamara Conniff, Ray Conniff’s daughter, and a distinguished music executive who has held leadership roles at Roc Nation, AMR Songs, and was the first female Editor-in-Chief of Billboard Magazine. Joining her will be the film’s director, Jonathan McHugh, who brings his extensive experience producing films about pop culture icons like Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, and Snoop Dogg. The discussion will be moderated by Schyler O’Neal, Sr. Manager of Education and Community Engagement at the GRAMMY Museum. The evening will also include a live performance by students from the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, paying tribute to Conniff’s enduring impact on modern music. This special program is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Ray & Vera Conniff Foundation.