International Jazz Workshop Saarwellingen

A Workshop That Is a Concert

The International Jazz Workshop Saarwellingen is a German specialty: a festival whose main activity is educational and whose concerts arise from it. For a week every summer, ambitious jazz musicians — students, advanced amateurs, professionals — meet with internationally renowned jazz faculty for intensive workshops. During the day, there is teaching, rehearsing, and deep thought. In the evenings, the faculty give their own concerts, followed by jam sessions where faculty, students, and guests improvise together. The 22nd edition in 2026 will be celebrated with an expanded program: an additional Big Band Day on August 18th will follow the festival week.

A Historic Venue

The venue is unusual and atmospheric: the Alte Werkshalle at Campus Nobel in Saarwellingen — a brick building from the former Dynamitfabrik (dynamite factory), named after Alfred Nobel, preserved as an industrial monument for decades. Today, the area hosts various cultural events; the historic industrial charm fits the festival's improvisation-friendly atmosphere. In front of the concert hall, one looks out over a small body of water reflecting the evening sun — a backdrop that transforms Saarwellingen from a "small Saarland village" into a concert and cultural hub.

International Faculty

The strength of the Jazz Workshop lies in the caliber of its faculty: "some of the best teachers and performers worldwide", as the website states. Each year, the program directors invite a new team of international jazz musicians — pianists, horn players, bassists, drummers, vocalists — from the USA, Scandinavia, France, Poland, and the Balkans. The styles range from mainstream jazz and modern jazz to fusion and avant-garde. The workshops take place in combo formations — small ensembles in which every participant is involved.

Recognized Professional Development

The Jazz Workshop is officially recognized as an event for professional development, allowing professional musicians, music teachers, and students to take educational leave. This formal recognition underscores the festival's serious ambition: it is more than a summer camp; it is a nationally recognized platform for musical advancement.

Concerts for the Public

Even those who are not workshop participants get their money's worth: the evening faculty concerts are open to the public, as are the student combo concerts at the end of the week (free admission). Thus, the festival connects a dedicated professional audience from the jazz world with casual visitors from Saarwellingen and Saarbrücken — a mix that fills the concert hall in the Alte Werkshalle well each evening.

Saarwellingen — Jazz in the Köllertal

Saarwellingen is a municipality with just under 13,000 inhabitants in the Saarlouis district, nestled in the rural Köllertal west of Saarbrücken. The town is otherwise known for its small-town atmosphere and proximity to the French border. With the Jazz Workshop, Saarwellingen has developed — almost invisibly from the outside — into one of Germany's central jazz destinations, attracting workshop participants from all over Europe.