Is the third time the charm in NYC for the dedicated MSHS Jazz Band program?
The Mount Si High School Jazz Band is heading back to the big apple for the third year in a row, selected [once again] as one of the elite 15 high school jazz bands to compete in Lincoln Center at the Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival.
The annual competition is the culmination of the yearlong program, in which participating bands submit a recorded jazz piece and 15 finalists are then selected through a rigorous process. About 100 schools submitted pieces this year.
MSHS Band Director Matt Wenman and his talented musicians will head to New York City competition May 5th – 7th, along with two other returning local high schools – Garfield and Roosevelt Jazz Bands.
Mount Si Jazz Band 1 is composed of approximately 20 dedicated, auditioned students who meet each morning before school at 6:30AM.
Garfield and Roosevelt have each won the competition multiple times since 1999. According to the Seattle Times, Seattle-area schools dominated the event between 2002-2010, but since then none have taken home the top prize.
Maybe this is the year. Good Luck Mount Si Jazz! Now let the fundraising begin MSHS Band Boosters!
2016 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Selections
- Beloit Memorial High School (Beloit, WI)
- Byron Center High School (Byron Center, MI)
- Crescent Super Band (American Fork, UT)
- Foxboro High School (Foxboro, MA)
- Garfield High School (Seattle, WA)
- Jazz House Kids (Montclair, NJ)
- Lexington High School (Lexington, MA)
- Mount Si High School (Snoqualmie, WA)
- New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL)
- Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble (Raleigh, NC)
- Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA)
- San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts (San Diego, CA)
- Sun Prairie High School (Sun Prairie, WI)
- Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ)
- University High School (Orange City, FL)
