Ralph Jones and Kamau Kenyatta co-chair the Music Program.

Ralph Jones is a composer, educator, and multi-woodwind specialist. He has toured throughout the United States and Europe with Pharaoh Sanders, Dr. Yusef Lateef, Wadada Leo Smith, Moving Pictures, Go Organic Orchestra, and the MC5 to name but a few. Ralph holds a BA in Ethnomusicology and a Masters degree in African-American Studies from UCLA, and is a member of the African-American Studies faculty at Oberlin College.

Kamau Kenyatta, co-chair, is a pianist and saxophonist who is a tenured lecturer at the University of California at San Diego Jazz Studies Department. He was honored with the prestigious Barbara J. and Paul D. Saltman Distinguished Teaching Award at UCSD in May 2009. Kamau has worked with jazz greats such as Hubert Laws, Earl Klugh, Donald Byrd and Jim Pepper.

The California State Summer School for the Arts Music Faculty is made up of internationally known performers and teachers including Jose Soto, Stan Smith, Erinn Horton, Adriana Manfredi, Dayren Santamaria, Richard Sellers, Pape Dious and Fatou Dious, Debasish Chaudhuri, John Stephens, Alex Overington, Tonga Ross-Ma'u, Charles Cohen and Patricia Wang.