As Bethel Woods celebrates its 20th Anniversary, the Event Gallery Concert Series expands to include new artistic experiences that bring audiences closer to the music in intimate and meaningful ways. Presented in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center, the 2026 Jazz Series features four thoughtfully curated performances showcasing a diverse lineup of world-class musicians. This cabaret-style series transforms the Event Gallery into a sophisticated jazz club setting, where artistry, atmosphere, and connection come together. Guests will gather at reserved tables and enjoy a cocktail-forward dining experience inspired by the iconic jazz rooms of New York City — offering a more personal way to experience live music and connect with the spirit of jazz.

For over three decades, Jazz at Lincoln Center has been a leading advocate for jazz, culture, and arts education globally. Under the direction of Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center has brought the art form of jazz from the heart of New York City to over 446 cities in more than 40 countries. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents touring initiative provides an affordable opportunity to present great jazz programming, featuring up-and-coming musicians who have been identified as rising stars by JALC. The initiative also allows for expansion of the mission of JALC “to entertain, enrich, and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy.

Bria Skonberg (Trumpet, Vocals, Co-Music Director): Born in British Columbia, Canada, and now residing in New York City, Bria has been a featured artist at hundreds of festivals and stages the world over, including New Orleans Jazz & Heritage, Kobe, Monterey, Breda, Newport, and Montreal Jazz Festivals. Described as “one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation” (Wall Street Journal), she has performed with Jon Batiste, Wycliffe Gordon, Stephane Wrembel, Steven Bernstein, U2 & Sun Ra Arkestra, The American Pops and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, The Blacksmiths “We Insist” Band, and once sang the “Star Spangled Banner” at Madison Square Garden for a NY Rangers game. The “shining hope of hot jazz” (NY Times) has been at the forefront of a revival of classic American music as both a performer and educator, programming concerts and workshops for students of all ages. A 3x Juno Award Nominee, Bria's debut LP on Sony Masterworks won for Best Jazz Vocal Album and made the Top 5 on Billboard jazz charts. Bria has recorded on over 25 albums and recently released her sixth studio solo album, Nothing Never Happens, consisting mostly of original compositions. Her music has garnered over 13 million streams online and over 85,000 social media followers. A 6x Downbeat Rising Star, further accolades include the Jazz at Lincoln Center Swing Award, Best Vocal and Best Trumpet from Hot House Jazz Magazine, and Outstanding Jazz Artist at the Bistro Awards. She tours constantly, bringing her own signature sounds of fiery trumpet playing, smoky vocals, and storytelling together with adventurous concoctions of classic and new.

The daughter of teachers, Bria is passionate about education and the learning experience. She was introduced to jazz by a spirited public school band program and a local festival in her hometown of Chilliwack. She earned her degree in Jazz Trumpet Performance from Capilano University in Vancouver, where she studied with Kevin Elaschuk, Alan Matheson, and independently with Australian cornetist Simon Stribling, all while balancing a full road schedule and managing two bands. Following graduation, she performed for four years with Canada’s King of Swing, Dal Richards, and was taken under the wing of music producer Paul Airey, who cultivated her love of songwriting. She traveled extensively, performing in China, Japan, and throughout Europe as a featured artist in traditional jazz circles. Seeking new challenges, Bria moved to New York in 2010 and studied privately with renowned trumpeter Warren Vache for two years. She now often appears as a guest faculty member and clinician, giving masterclasses and private instruction as well as directing and performing with student ensembles at all levels. Bria is a Co-Founder/Director of the NY Hot Jazz Camp and has served as faculty at the Teagarden Jazz Camp (Sacramento Jazz Education Foundation), Centrum Jazz Camp, Geri Allen Jazz Camp, and Junior Jazz Academy (JALC). She has performed hundreds of educational concerts and workshops for students of all ages, has led an ensemble for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Jazz for Young People” outreach program, and is an Educational Advisor to the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens. She has been an Artist in Residence collaborating with Syracuse University, Ball State University, UNC Greensboro, Jazz Arts Group in Columbus, Cape May Regional Schools, and more. In 2018, Lincoln Center sought out her leadership for a tribute to the first integrated all-female big band, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, which launched her acclaimed group Sisterhood of Swing. In 2019, she was a featured member of Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour for 26 dates alongside Cecile McLorin Salvant, Christian Sands, Melissa Aldana, and Jamison Ross. She is an active member of the Women in Jazz Organization, Jazz Education Network, a Bach Conn-Selmer artist, a board member of the International Trumpet Guild, and a new mother.

Benny Benack III (Trumpet, Vocals, Co-Music Director): By age 31, Emmy-nominated trumpeter and singer Benny Benack III has proven to be that rarest of talents: not only a fiery trumpet player with a stirring command of the post-bop trumpet vernacular in the vein of Kenny Dorham and Freddie Hubbard, but also a singer with a sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery in the post-Sinatra mold, performing standards and his own astute songs with a thrilling sense of showmanship. This duel-threat ability was recognized by the 2022 Downbeat Critics Poll, where he appeared as not only the #2 Rising Star Male Vocalist, but a top Rising Star Trumpeter as well. His superb intonation and bracing virtuosity enable him to handle astounding feats of originally composed vocalese (complex solos with written lyrics). On top of it all, he’s a highly capable pianist as well.

Benny has performed internationally as an Emcee/Host for the YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox, and achieved his own viral success, amassing millions of views for his crooning alongside the Grammy-award winning “8-Bit Big Band”. In early 2020, he released A Lot of Livin’ to Do, the follow-up to his well-received 2017 debut One of a Kind. This sophomore effort, richly varied in mood and brimming with bop inflection, features bassist extraordinaire and jazz ambassador Christian McBride (whose Grammy-award winning Big Band frequently calls upon Benny in the trumpet section) and drummer/producer Ulysses Owens, Jr., as well as the radiant Takeshi Ohbayashi on piano and Rhodes. His vocalese duet on “Social Call” from this album alongside fellow young star vocalist Veronica Swift became an instant smash hit single, being transcribed and learned by jazz vocalists around the world.

Alongside his global touring as a straight-ahead/contemporary bandleader, Benny has appeared as a trumpet soloist in more commercial circles alongside Josh Groban, Ben Folds, fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi, Ann Hampton Callaway, and more. He’s been featured at Birdland, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Mezzrow, Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle, and other leading New York venues and has also been a special guest with the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, and the Minsk Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his television debut in NBC’s short-lived, SNL-inspired variety show Maya & Marty playing in the in-studio band led by acclaimed bassist & Broadway arranger Charlie Rosen. His global recognition has been bolstered by recent live-streaming concerts at Smalls Jazz Club, where he maintains a weekly residency, as well as frequent appearances on fellow young lion Emmet Cohen’s “Emmet’s Place” weekly show.

Third in a generational line of Pittsburgh jazz notables, Benny follows in the footsteps of his trumpeter/bandleader grandfather, Benny Benack, Sr. (1921-86), and his father Benny Benack, Jr., a saxophonist/clarinetist who gave the young Benny his first professional experience. Benny, Sr. hailed from a Pittsburgh lineage that also produced Roy Eldridge, Earl Hines, Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn, and so many more. He recorded the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 1960 theme song “Beat ’Em Bucs” and toured with Tommy Dorsey and Raymond Scott, among others. Benny III returns to Pittsburgh often to perform, saluting his family forebears and the jazz heritage as a whole, nonetheless staking his bold and highly individual artistic claim. He is an endorsing artist with Torpedo Bags cases, CarolBrass flugelhorns, as well as various menswear fashion lines including X-Suit, Alain Dupetit, Proper Cloth & Vittone.