Mount Si jazz band chosen again for Essentially Ellington Festival at Lincoln Center
Published 12:17 pm Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Jazz at Lincoln Center today announced the 15 finalist bands to compete in the 21st annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival May 5 to 7. For the third year in a row, Mount Si High School’s Jazz Band I was chosen for the event.
Also returning to the event this year are bands from Garfield and Roosevelt High School in Seattle. These are the only bands from Washington to be chosen. Other finalists included: Beloit Memorial High School, Beloit, Wis.; Sun Prairie High School, Sun Prairie, Wis.; Byron Center High School, Byron Center, Mich.; Crescent Super Band, American Fork, Utah; Jazz House Kids, Montclair, N.J.; Foxboro High School, Foxboro, Mass.; Lexington High School, Lexington, Mass.; San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, San Diego, Calif.; Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble, Raleigh, N.C.; Tucson Jazz Institute, Tucson, Ariz.; New World School of the Arts, Miami, Fla.; and University High School, Orange City, Fla.
Each finalist band receives an in-school workshop led by a professional musician before coming to New York to put up their “Dukes” and perform before esteemed judges Lauren Sevian, Jeff Hamilton, Chuck Israel, Chris Crenshaw and Wynton Marsalis.
On May 5, the finalist bands will arrive in New York City to spend three days immersed in workshops, jam sessions, rehearsals and performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center. On May 7, the Competition & Festival will conclude with a concert and awards ceremony featuring the three top-placing bands and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
Nearly 100 high school jazz bands across North America entered the competition. Each school submitted recordings of three tunes performed from charts from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington library. Nearly 3,800 high school bands will have participated in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2015-16 Essentially Ellington program and benefited from free charts and resources.
The Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival is media-accessible via JALC social media on Facebook, Twitter @EssEllington, Instagram @jazzdotorg, and Tumblr. Students, viewers, and participators can share their thoughts and photos by using the hashtag #EE2016.
