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A lot of us love listening to music when we study, need to relax, or just in general. So next time you open Spotify, why not take a listen to the album Royalty by the Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra, featuring CA’s very own band director, Jessica Sneeringer. I was lucky to be able to interview Ms. Sneeringer, who kindly donated her time to talk about the experience. 

The Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra is an offshoot of the Springfield Symphony, led by Todd Stoll, who founded the orchestra in 2019 to fight segregation in the Springfield area. “This jazz band is unusual because there are professionals and amateurs. There are more women in this group than I’ve ever played a jazz gig with,” said Sneeringer. “And there are people who are Black and white, young and old, people who’ve been in this business for 50 years and people in their 20s.” Stoll has numerous connections and frequently invites Grammy Award-winning singers and other musicians to perform with the diverse group. 

Royalty was put together in August, 2025, with covers paying homage to the jazz giants including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Ella Fitzgerald. The jazz orchestra recorded its songs in a day and a half, with most done in just one or two takes. “Todd didn’t want it to be perfect. He didn’t want it to be pristine and sterile. He wanted it to be real,” said Sneeringer. Later, the album traveled to New York City, where the other singers joined in. After engineering and production, the songs were released in mid-2026. 

Sneeringer’s favorite pieces are “Second Line” and “Chinoiserie.” As the lead trombonist, she also performs a masterful solo on “My Little Brown Book.” Sneeringer was drawn to trombone because, along with its versatility, she said it was the closest instrument to the human voice. “I started as a bass trombonist,” she said. “And then after COVID, our lead trombonist couldn’t make a gig. And Todd’s like, ‘Hey, you play lead.’ And so now, I play lead, and I’ve been doing it ever since.” 

Several roadblocks came up throughout production. “Well, we actually had a broken piano that we didn’t know was broken until we showed up to record it!” said Sneeringer. “It had an entire key that didn’t work. But these musicians are so good. The pianist did an entire solo without using that note, an entire amazing solo, and never once touched that key.” Sneeringer added that she had damaged her lips from the intense amount of playing time. There was a concert, Thursday rehearsal, Friday rehearsal, and Saturday gig, all before the Sunday and Monday recording. “I was not prepared or something, and my lips physically hurt,” she said. “So I was on a lot of ibuprofen and icing my lips, just trying to get through the recording session without making it sound bad.” 

Outside of the album, through Sneeringer’s dedicated involvement in the jazz field, she met Wynton Marsalis, the leader of Jazz at Lincoln Center, in New York. “He’s the reason American jazz is known, because it kind of started to die off in the 70’s and 80’s. There was a whole lot of politics behind it, and funk, fusion, and rock started to overshadow jazz,” she said. Marsalis brought together not only the jazz greats, but also everyone in between, helping preserve and reignite the passion for traditional jazz. 

Marsalis will retire from his administrative position soon and is performing his last tour with the Jazz Lincoln Center Orchestra. The CA jazz band students were fortunate to witness his performance at OSU last week .“The purpose of that trip was for our students to see literally the best jazz band in the world,” said Sneeringer. “For our students to see them live is kind of an amazing thing.” 

Ever since 8th grade, jazz has played a prominent role in Sneeringer’s life. “I don’t know why I liked it then,” she said. “When I got to high school, I started to realize how it made me feel was really cool. I just liked the energy with the other musicians. I didn’t have the word for that yet. I was just this kid who just felt good playing music.” She compares the internal thrill of jazz with the feeling in sports when every pass and shot just clicks. “The audience gets that vibe–the energy is very transferable. I can’t get enough of it, and that’s why we have a jazz band here.” 

Her advice for aspiring musicians is to be ready, practice, be reliable, and know how to enjoy it. “But you also have to have your eyes open to any opportunities that come your way, because you never know what door is going to open. Are you going to be ready to walk through that door? And have an open mind about it, because you never know what’s around the corner.” 

Sneeringer added, “I don’t think I could not play jazz”. 

You can listen to the album here: https://open.spotify.com/album/36ZqqZThj6aBo8uqIWFFVH