‘He loved what music could do for people’: City honors the late Frank DeMiero

He believed music had a unique power to bring entire communities together, through the shared experience of making music.”

Joe DeMiero

No one has done more for promoting jazz and jazz education in the Edmonds area than Frank DeMiero, who died at age 84 in February 2025. He spent more than six decades in music education, serving as arts administrator for the Edmonds School District while mentoring generations of students and educators.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen proclaimed March 14 Frank DeMiero Day, reading a proclamation in his honor. On that day, family, friends, students, and community members will gather at Edmonds College’s Woodway Hall from 2-4 p.m. to celebrate DeMiero’s life through song.

Vince DeMiero, one of Frank’s sons, joined the mayor at the podium.

“What made my dad special wasn’t just that he loved music – it was that he loved what music could do for people,” Joe DeMiero, Frank’s youngest son, told the Beacon. “He believed music could change lives, and he saw potential in people – often before they saw it in themselves.”

In lieu of flowers or cards, the DeMiero family invites the community to consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the 50th Annual DeMiero Jazz Fest March 12-13, ensuring that Frank’s legacy of music education continues for generations to come.

Since its inception in 1977, the DeMiero Jazz Festival has taken on several names. It was initially known as the Soundsation Jazz Festival, produced by student leaders in Soundsation and by DeMiero.

It later became known as the Lynnwood Jazz Festival when the city of Lynnwood became the primary naming sponsor. Later, the festival was dubbed the Edmonds Community College Jazz Festival.

“Edmonds was home to so much of his life’s work,” Joe said. “He believed music had a unique power to bring entire communities together, through the shared experience of making music.”

In 2005, The Friends of Frank DeMiero began co-hosting the festival and, for the past several years, the festival has simply been named the DeMiero Jazz Fest. To avoid confusion, in 2014 the organization became officially known as the DeMiero Jazz Festival, and the annual event remains the DeMiero Jazz Fest.

In addition to his work with the district, DeMiero founded the music department at Edmonds College in 1974, which included the award-winning Soundsation Jazz Choir. DeMiero was also director of the Sno-King Chorale, a non-audition choir open to all who share its vision to grow musically. He retired in 2018.

The bandleader was a co-founder of the Jazz Education Network and Sound Music Publications (now Anchor Music). He also founded the Edmonds Jazz Connection.

For 25 years, the week-long summertime Frank DeMiero Jazz Camp provided an immersive experience for thousands of students and educators, featuring some of the world’s most celebrated jazz musicians and teachers as camp faculty.

“One of the most beautiful things about my dad’s legacy is that it keeps on playing,” Joe said. “It lives on in the students he encouraged, the teachers he mentored, the programs he built, and the community that still comes together around music because of him.”

The DeMiero Jazz Festival is a nonprofit organization and relies on community support, sponsorships, and donations for its funding. They are supported by the Edmonds Arts Commission, the Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund, the Hubbard Family Foundation, the American Choral Directors Association, ArtsFund, Plaza Insurance, the Snohomish County Arts Commission, Arts WA, the City of Edmonds, Edmonds Harbor Inn, and others.  

For more information: demierojazzfest.org.