Community Corner
St. Charles North High School Jazz Workshop to Attend Band Competition in New York City in May
Students to perform and compete in the 16th annual Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival and Competition.
The St. Charles North High School Jazz Workshop has been invited to participate in the 16th annual Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival and Competition planned May 12-14 in New York, NY.
Jazz Workshop, an audition-only jazz musical group for North students directed by John Wojciechowski and Jim Stombres, was one of 15 groups chosen from more than 100 bands that applied to participate in the event, which is sponsored by the Jazz at Lincoln Center organization.
Jazz Workshop also participated in the Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival and Competition in 2004. While attending this year, students will compete and participate in workshops, jam sessions and other musical events. To help students prepare throughout March and April, Jazz at Lincoln Center will send a professional musician to each of the 15 finalist schools to lead an intensive day-long workshop of rehearsals, lessons, and master classes.
During the event in May, the three top-placing bands perform with Wynton Marsalis, artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, as guest soloist, followed by a performance by the 15-piece Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, whose members serve as mentors for the finalist bands throughout the weekend. The final concert will be at 7:30 p.m. May 14 at Avery Fisher Hall within the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
“It is extremely gratifying to see the results of the seeds we sowed 16 years ago when we started Essentially Ellington,” Marsalis said. “The improvement in the quality of the bands down through the years attests to the artistic substance of Duke Ellington’s music. The enthusiasm and dedication of students, families, band directors, judges, and alumni testify to the timeless American values that define this competition and festival.”
The festival finale is an awards ceremony that honors outstanding soloists, sections and the top three bands. The competition and festival is the culmination of the annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program, which includes regional festivals, teaching resources and a summer band director academy, among other elements.
Event judges include Marsalis, Rich DeRosa, David Berger, Vincent Gardner and Johnny Mandel. In-school clinicians include Ronald Carter, Wycliffe Gordon, Sherman Irby, Ted Nash, Loren Schoenberg, Reginald Thomas, Rodney Whitaker and Todd Williams.
Free tickets for each competition section will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, one hour before the start of each concert on May 13-14. Tickets for the finale concert and awards ceremony are $20 or $25 and available by calling CenterCharge at 212-721-6500 or by visiting www.jalc.org. For more information, visit www.jalc.org/essentiallyellington.
