The Institute's goal of preserving and promoting jazz includes introducing people around the world to this great American art form.

Most recently, in February 2009 the Institute's college students and world-renowned musicians performed in India to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic trip to India taken by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King.  This U.S. State Department-sponsored educational tour featured Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Dee Dee Bridgewater, George Duke, Terri Lyne Carrington, and James Genus.  The group performed "Living the Dream" concerts for thousands of people in Mumbai and New Delhi and presented jazz education programs.

In January 2008 the Institute partnered with the U.S. Department of State to present a jazz education tour of India.  Internationally renowned jazz artists Patti Austin, Bob James, Earl Klugh, and Bobby Watson were joined by several accomplished graduates of the Institute's jazz education programs.  Highlights included a concert for 1,000 people in Mumbai, sponsored by VH1 Jazz Masters, and a master class at the Ravi Shankar Institute of Music and Performing Arts in New Delhi.

 Also in 2008, the current class of students enrolled in the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at Loyola University New Orleans performed with Danilo Perez at the Panama Jazz Festival.

The Institute's international programs date back to 1989, when Clark Terry and Paul Jeffrey led an Institute summer program in Dolo, Italy.  More recently, the Institute has conducted workshops in South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The most successful and far reaching international programs have been the many Institute tours sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, as well as the creation of an alliance with seven Caribbean nations.

The Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Ambassadors, an ensemble of previous Competition winners, was organized in 1995 for a six-week tour of seven African nations. Pianist Ted Rosenthal, drummer Harold Summey, Composers Competition winner Patrick Zimmerli, and vocalist winner Lisa Henry were among the artists who presented workshops and concerts for audiences in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, and Swaziland under the leadership of T.S. Monk.

In 1996, a second State Department tour was assembled, this time featuring the members of the first class of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance along with T.S. Monk, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter. The group traveled to India and Thailand, performing and teaching to thrilled audiences who were receiving their first hands-on jazz experience. During the course of the tour, the Institute students performed at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the coronation of the King of Thailand.

The Institute forged an alliance with seven Caribbean nations (St. Lucia, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Barbados, Grenada, and Trinidad) in 1997, establishing educational outreach programs that bring jazz masters and educators to the people of the Caribbean. Each year, internationally renowned jazz artists and educators such as Bobby Watson, Ellis Marsalis, and Arturo Sandoval present master classes, workshops and concerts with artists and educators from the islands.

In 1998, the second class of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance toured Argentina, Chile, and Peru with Herbie Hancock. Highlights of the tour included a performance at the Summit of the Americas attended by heads of state from 34 countries in North America, South America, and Central America. These students also traveled to Jamaica in 1999 to perform and present educational programs.

In 2000, the third class of students attending the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance appeared at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, and traveled to Egypt in 2001, where they performed and led master classes with Herbie Hancock and Vanessa Rubin. For three years beginning in 2002, the United Nations sponsored a tour of Paris, where students from the Institute of Jazz Performance appeared with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Herbie Hancock, T.S. Monk, and Wayne Shorter at the annual "Day of Philosophy" event presented by UNESCO. In 2004, the Institute's fifth class of college students performed at the Tokyo Jazz Festival with Herbie Hancock.

In 2005, the Institute presented an educational tour in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the United States and Vietnam resuming diplomatic relations.

In the coming years, the Institute plans to continue producing international tours and bringing jazz to all parts of the world.