15 HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ BAND FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 12th ANNUAL ESSENTIALLY ELLINGTON COMPETITION & FESTIVAL
NEW YORK CITY MAY 4- 6, 2007 / Jazz at Lincoln Center
- Judges: WYNTON MARSALIS, DAVID BAKER, DAVID BERGER, GUNTHER SCHULLER
- In School Clinicians: RON CARTER, VINCENT GARDNER, WYCLIFFE GORDON, SEAN JONES, ARTURO O'FARRILL, LOREN SCHOENBERG and REGINALD THOMAS
- Mentors: members of the JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA
- EE Essay Contest: judged by DAN MORGENSTERN
****Essentially Ellington 2007 Finalists****
Agoura High School Studio Jazz Band, Agoura Hills, CA
Agoura High School Jazz A, Agoura Hills, CA
Rio Americano High School, Sacramento, CA
Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
Foxboro High School, Foxboro, MA
King Philip Regional High School, Wrentham, MA
River East Collegiate, Winnipeg, MB
Grandview High School, Grandview, MO
Honeoye Falls-Lima High School, Honeoye Falls, NY
Williamsville East High School, East Amherst, NY
Carroll Senior High School, Southlake, TX
Edmonds-Woodway High School, Edmonds, WA
Garfield High School, Seattle, WA
Roosevelt High School, Seattle, WA
Mead High School, Spokane, WA
Winner of Conglomerate Band Workshop:
Pacific Crest Community School, Portland, OR
New York, NY (2/22/07) Jazz at Lincoln Center announced today the 15 finalist bands for its prestigious 12th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival.
- This year Jazz at Lincoln Center distributed more than 5,400 newly transcribed Ellington scores, reference recordings and additional educational materials.
- These materials were sent to more than 900 high schools in the United States, Canada and American schools in Bolivia, Brazil, France, Japan, Malaysia and Switzerland.
- 88 bands entered the competition by submitting a recording of three Ellington works.
- The entries were evaluated in a blind screening by jazz education experts RONALD CARTER, LOREN SCHOENBERG and REGINALD THOMAS.
- 15 finalists were selected.
The bands will compete and participate in a festival of workshops, jam sessions and more, during the final Competition & Festival in New York City on May 4 - 6 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The top placing bands perform with Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Wynton Marsalis, as a soloist on May 6 at Avery Fisher Hall followed by an all Ellington concert performed by the 15-piece Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra - all of whom serve as mentors for each of the finalist bands during this weekend festival. The three-day festival culminates with the awards ceremony honoring outstanding soloists and sections and placing the three top bands.
Free tickets for the competition can be obtained at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, Broadway at 60th Street beginning on April 9. Tickets for the Concert and Awards Ceremony are $20 and available now at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500 or at www.jalc.org.
The Competition & Festival weekend is the focal point of the annual Essentially Ellington program, which also includes regional festivals, curriculum resources, summer Band Director Academy, monthly newsletters and more.
“After decades of doing master classes in high schools across our country, it's hard to believe the impact this program has had on jazz bands. Bass players with sounds, brass players wah-wahing with plunger mutes, the return of the swooping clarinet, swinging rhythm sections ... the blues. Through this program, we have seen the power of Ellington's music bring out the best in our young people. And each year our band directors and their communities become even more committed. This is one of my favorite times of the year -- when families come in from across the country in support of their bands and directors and other peoples' kids and music programs. You can feel their energy. And, for us all, it enriches ourselves by illuminating the human value of this great music. It reminds us that jazz is indeed alive in the next generation," said Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director, Wynton Marsalis.
“Our finalists make up an array of outstanding communities dedicated to teaching jazz to their students," said Erika Floreska, Director of Education at Jazz at Lincoln Center. “We're excited to send clinicians to each school to work with these outstanding ensembles." Throughout March and April, Jazz at Lincoln Center will send, free of charge, a professional musician to each of the 15 finalist schools to lead an intensive day-long workshop of rehearsals, lessons and master classes. The free clinics are part of the rich 12-year history of this unique music education program, which has reached more than 210,000 students in over 3,700 high schools across all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and American schools abroad. Essentially Ellington has produced and distributed more than 66,000 copies of 71 previously unavailable Ellington scores and 78 finalist bands have come to New York City to participate in the Competition & Festival.
Sixth Annual Essentially Ellington Student Essay Contest
This year, Jazz at Lincoln Center continues the Sixth Annual Essentially Ellington Student Essay Contest, inviting students from all participating Essentially Ellington high schools to submit an essay describing a personal experience with jazz. 76 essays were received from across the country and Canada, from which author and scholar DAN MORGENSTERN will choose the winners. In addition to other prizes including jazz CDs and jazz literature, the first place winner will name a seat in Frederick P. Rose Hall, the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and be awarded a trip to New York to read his or her essay during the festival. The winners of the essay contest will be announced in early March on the Jazz at Lincoln Center website.
NEW YORK CITY MAY 4- 6, 2007 / Jazz at Lincoln Center
- Judges: WYNTON MARSALIS, DAVID BAKER, DAVID BERGER, GUNTHER SCHULLER
- In School Clinicians: RON CARTER, VINCENT GARDNER, WYCLIFFE GORDON, SEAN JONES, ARTURO O'FARRILL, LOREN SCHOENBERG and REGINALD THOMAS
- Mentors: members of the JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA
- EE Essay Contest: judged by DAN MORGENSTERN
****Essentially Ellington 2007 Finalists****
Agoura High School Studio Jazz Band, Agoura Hills, CA
Agoura High School Jazz A, Agoura Hills, CA
Rio Americano High School, Sacramento, CA
Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
Foxboro High School, Foxboro, MA
King Philip Regional High School, Wrentham, MA
River East Collegiate, Winnipeg, MB
Grandview High School, Grandview, MO
Honeoye Falls-Lima High School, Honeoye Falls, NY
Williamsville East High School, East Amherst, NY
Carroll Senior High School, Southlake, TX
Edmonds-Woodway High School, Edmonds, WA
Garfield High School, Seattle, WA
Roosevelt High School, Seattle, WA
Mead High School, Spokane, WA
Winner of Conglomerate Band Workshop:
Pacific Crest Community School, Portland, OR
New York, NY (2/22/07) Jazz at Lincoln Center announced today the 15 finalist bands for its prestigious 12th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival.
- This year Jazz at Lincoln Center distributed more than 5,400 newly transcribed Ellington scores, reference recordings and additional educational materials.
- These materials were sent to more than 900 high schools in the United States, Canada and American schools in Bolivia, Brazil, France, Japan, Malaysia and Switzerland.
- 88 bands entered the competition by submitting a recording of three Ellington works.
- The entries were evaluated in a blind screening by jazz education experts RONALD CARTER, LOREN SCHOENBERG and REGINALD THOMAS.
- 15 finalists were selected.
The bands will compete and participate in a festival of workshops, jam sessions and more, during the final Competition & Festival in New York City on May 4 - 6 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The top placing bands perform with Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Wynton Marsalis, as a soloist on May 6 at Avery Fisher Hall followed by an all Ellington concert performed by the 15-piece Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra - all of whom serve as mentors for each of the finalist bands during this weekend festival. The three-day festival culminates with the awards ceremony honoring outstanding soloists and sections and placing the three top bands.
Free tickets for the competition can be obtained at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, Broadway at 60th Street beginning on April 9. Tickets for the Concert and Awards Ceremony are $20 and available now at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500 or at www.jalc.org.
The Competition & Festival weekend is the focal point of the annual Essentially Ellington program, which also includes regional festivals, curriculum resources, summer Band Director Academy, monthly newsletters and more.
“After decades of doing master classes in high schools across our country, it's hard to believe the impact this program has had on jazz bands. Bass players with sounds, brass players wah-wahing with plunger mutes, the return of the swooping clarinet, swinging rhythm sections ... the blues. Through this program, we have seen the power of Ellington's music bring out the best in our young people. And each year our band directors and their communities become even more committed. This is one of my favorite times of the year -- when families come in from across the country in support of their bands and directors and other peoples' kids and music programs. You can feel their energy. And, for us all, it enriches ourselves by illuminating the human value of this great music. It reminds us that jazz is indeed alive in the next generation," said Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director, Wynton Marsalis.
“Our finalists make up an array of outstanding communities dedicated to teaching jazz to their students," said Erika Floreska, Director of Education at Jazz at Lincoln Center. “We're excited to send clinicians to each school to work with these outstanding ensembles." Throughout March and April, Jazz at Lincoln Center will send, free of charge, a professional musician to each of the 15 finalist schools to lead an intensive day-long workshop of rehearsals, lessons and master classes. The free clinics are part of the rich 12-year history of this unique music education program, which has reached more than 210,000 students in over 3,700 high schools across all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and American schools abroad. Essentially Ellington has produced and distributed more than 66,000 copies of 71 previously unavailable Ellington scores and 78 finalist bands have come to New York City to participate in the Competition & Festival.
Sixth Annual Essentially Ellington Student Essay Contest
This year, Jazz at Lincoln Center continues the Sixth Annual Essentially Ellington Student Essay Contest, inviting students from all participating Essentially Ellington high schools to submit an essay describing a personal experience with jazz. 76 essays were received from across the country and Canada, from which author and scholar DAN MORGENSTERN will choose the winners. In addition to other prizes including jazz CDs and jazz literature, the first place winner will name a seat in Frederick P. Rose Hall, the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and be awarded a trip to New York to read his or her essay during the festival. The winners of the essay contest will be announced in early March on the Jazz at Lincoln Center website.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
