For the first time in its 54-year history, the University of Idahoâs Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival will be held completely online. UI School of Music Director Vanessa Sielert, who also serves as education adviser for the festival, said organizers made changes to this yearâs program to comply with pandemic restrictions. The festival is set for Feb. 25 through 27. Sielert said one major change is there will be no competitive events included in this yearâs program. Instead, organizers focused on building educational workshops and creating a slightly unorthodox online concert series. Online workshops will be offered to soloists, combos and large ensembles who will send in recorded video performances that will be reviewed by adjudicators, including music educators and professional performers from across the country. Theyâve also nixed the requirement that students perform with live accompaniment, Sielert said. This allows groups to submit pieces that were recorded separately and later mixed together, and soloists to be accompanied by a recording rather than another live musician.