Savannah Music Festival (SMF) has selected twelve outstanding high school jazz bands from more than 50 applications to participate in the fifth annual SWING CENTRAL High School Jazz Band Competition & Workshop. Under the leadership of pianist/educator/composer Marcus Roberts, the esteemed clinicians of SWING CENTRAL include Jeff Clayton, Wycliffe Gordon, Jim Ketch, Marcus Printup, John Clayton, Gerald Clayton, Jason Marsalis, Jim Ketch, Dave Stryker, Roland Guerin, Ted Nash, Obed Calvaire, Terell Stafford, Leon Anderson, Chris Crenshaw, Rodney Jordan, Bill Peterson, and Jack Wilkins. Participating students work with these jazz masters across three days, perform in showcases on Savannah's River Street, play in competition rounds, and observe a variety of SMF performances during their intensive workshops, which take place from March 31 through April 2, 2010.

“We are very excited about the growing enthusiasm for SWING CENTRAL," remarks SMF Executive & Artistic Director Rob Gibson. “Not only is the talent remarkable among our 2010 semifinalists, but the significant increase in applications from twenty-two states speaks to the relevance of our program. Unique mentorship opportunities have always been crucial to the understanding of jazz music." In 2010, the nationally recognized SWING CENTRAL program features the following bands going head-to-head for $13,000 in cash awards:

• Agoura High School, Agoura Hills, CA
• Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA
• Calabasas High School, Calabasas, CA
• Dillard Center for the Arts, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL
• Dr. Michael M. Kropp High School, Miami, FL
• Fontainebleau High School, Mandeville, LA
• Hoover High School, Hoover, AL
• Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School, Memphis, TN
• Newport High School, Bellevue, WA
• State College Area High School, State College, PA
• Tarpon Springs High School, Tarpon Springs, FL

Band director Greg McKelvey, of Battle Ground High School in Washington State, says, “My students are ecstatic about being selected for this event. They can not wait to return to Savannah." Each competing band receives a visit by a SWING CENTRAL clinician in February to help prepare them for the event. On April 1, all bands perform in public showcases at Rousakis Plaza on River Street. During competition rounds on April 2, each band plays three selections: Bennie Moten's “Moten Swing," “Stolen Moments" by Oliver Nelson, and “Black Bottom Stomp" by Jelly Roll Morton. Competition Rounds, held at Lucas Theatre for the Arts, are free and open to the public. The three top-scoring bands each receive an honorarium ($5000 for first, $2500 for second and $1000 for third place) and perform the opening set at the SMF production All-Star Swing Summit, featuring Marcus Roberts Trio, Chris Crenshaw and the Georgia Horns, The Clayton Brothers and others on the same stage at 7:30 p.m. that night. Other competitors receive a $500 travel stipend.

SWING CENTRAL is sponsored by Robert & Jean Faircloth, in part by Atlanta Gas Light and with additional support from Georgia Public Broadcasting.

About the Savannah Music Festival
The Savannah Music Festival presents a world-class celebration of the musical arts by creating timeless and adventurous productions that stimulate arts education, foster economic growth, and unite artists and audiences in Savannah, Georgia. The 2010 festival runs from March 18 through April 3, including more than 100 performances of world-class jazz, classical, blues, bluegrass, gospel and other genres of American and international roots music in intimate venues throughout the historic district of Savannah.