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| Charles Mingus High School Competition Awards: February 2017 From Friday, February 17 to Sunday, February 20, high school students from across the US celebrated the music of the late, great jazz bassist and composer, Charles Mingus (1922–1979), as part of the ninth Annual Charles Mingus High School Competition & Festival. Once again, the event was hosted at both Manhattan School of Music (MSM), with performances by the Mingus Big band and Orchestra at the Jazz Standard. The event was co-produced and presented by Sue Mingus and Let My Children Hear Music/ The Charles Mingus Institute and the MSM Jazz Arts Program. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE US The 12 finalist ensembles- six combos and six big bands- who competed this year on Sunday, February 19, were from California, Oklahoma, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts (please see full list of finalists below). 2017 CHARLES MINGUS HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION AWARDS Outstanding Combo Arrangement of Eclipse: Kate Williams, SFJAZZ All Stars Mingus Spirit Award: The Tulsa Jambassadors Outstanding Section Non-Specialized: Trumpet Section, Medfield High School Jazz Band Outstanding Section Specialized: Saxophone Section, Jazz House Kids Outstanding Combo Non-Specialized: Berkeley High School Combo A Outstanding Combo Specialized: SFJAZZ All Stars Combo Outstanding Big Band Non-Specialized: Lexington High School Jazz Ensemble Outstanding Big Band Specialized: SFJAZZ High School All Stars Big Band OUTSTANDING SOLOISTS Jasim Perales, trombone, Berkeley High School Combo A Owen Storey, bass, Berkeley High School Combo A Duncan McElman, baritone saxophone, Rio Americano High School Jazz Combo Nick Augusta, piano, Rio Americano High School Jazz Combo Cosimo Fabrizio, guitar, Newark Academy Combo Evan Mickas, alto saxophone, SFJAZZ All Stars Solomon Alber, tenor saxophone, SFJazz All Stars Matanda Keyes, drums, SFJazz All Stars Nathan Farrell, alto saxophone, Jazz House Big Band Adam Wacks, drums, Jazz House Big Band 2017 MINGUS HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION FINALISTS The finalists (in alphabetical order by school) are: BIG BAND CATEGORY Boston Latin High School Big Band, Boston, MA. Band Director: Paul J. Pitts Lexington High School Jazz Ensemble, Lexington, MA. Band Director: Patrick Donaher Medfield High School Jazz Band, Medfield, MA. Band Director: Douglas Olsen COMBO CATEGORY Berkeley High School Combo A, Berkeley, Ca. Band Director: Sarah Cline Newark Academy Combo, Livingston, NJ. Band Director: Julius Tolentino Rio Americano High School Jazz Combo, Sacramento, CA. Band Director: Max Keisner BIG BAND CATEGORY - Specialized Schools and Programs Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Studio Ensemble, New York, NY. Band Director: Kenny Rampton Jazz House Big Band, Jazz House Kids. Montclair, NJ. Band Director: Julius Tolentino SFJAZZ High School All Stars Big Band, San Francisco, CA. Band Director: Paul Contos COMBO CATEGORY - Specialized Schools and Program Jazz House Ambassadors, Jazz House Kids, Montclair, NJ. Band Director: Mike Lee SFJAZZ High School All Stars Combo, San Francisco, CA. Band Director: Dann Zinn Tulsa Jambassadors, Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, Tulsa, OK. Band Director: Doug Styers For further information: ctoriaga@msmnyc.edu ABOUT "LET MY CHILDREN HEAR MUSIC"/ THE CHARLES MINGUS INSTITUTE: Founded in 1986 by Sue Mingus, "Let My Children Hear Music" is devoted to promoting the legacy of composer Charles Mingus through performance, education, publishing and archives. For more information visit: mingusmingusmingus.com. ABOUT MSM JAZZ ARTS Manhattan School of Music is one of the first conservatories in the United States to acknowledge the importance of jazz as an art form by establishing undergraduate and graduate degree programs in jazz. The program, developed under the leadership of eminent jazz artist and educator Justin DiCioccio, is one of the richest of its kind, combining systematic and rigorous conservatory training with a myriad of performance and networking opportunities in New York City. In addition to a variety of small combos, student ensembles include the Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Concert Jazz Band, Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Philharmonic, and Chamber Jazz Orchestra. Incoming Jazz Arts Director Stefon Harris (BM '95, MM '97) will continue the program's mission: to prepare students to perform, compose, and teach with equal facility and passion. In addition to studies with our expert faculty, students are provided additional opportunities to play for and observe world-renowned guest artists. Master classes in recent years have been presented by Stefon Harris (vibraphone), Maria Schneider (composition), Vijay Iyer (piano), Lee Konitz (saxophone), Dave Liebman (MSM Artist in Residence, saxophone), Jason Moran (MM '97, piano), Christian McBride (bass), Jimmy Heath (tenor saxophone), Jon Faddis (trumpet), Gary Burton (vibraphone), and Wycliffe Gordon (trombone). Every concert season, prominent guest artists are featured with our large ensembles, providing enriched performance experiences for students. Guest artists have included Jane Monheit (BM '99), Candido, Dave Liebman, Randy Weston, Jon Faddis, Paquito D'Rivera, Joe Lovano, Bob Mintzer, Randy Brecker, Roberta Gambarini, and Judi Silvano. ABOUT MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC Founded as a community music school by Janet Daniels Schenck in 1918, today MSM is recognized for its more than 950 superbly talented undergraduate and graduate students who come from more than 50 countries and nearly all 50 states; a world-renowned artist-teacher faculty; and innovative curricula. The School is dedicated to the personal, artistic, and intellectual development of aspiring musicians, from its Precollege students through those pursuing postgraduate studies. Offering classical, jazz, and musical theatre training, MSM grants Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees, as well as the Professional Studies Certificate and Artist Diploma. True to MSM's origins as a music school for children, the Precollege program continues to offer superior music instruction to young musicians between the ages of 5 and 18. The School also serves some 2, 000 New York City schoolchildren through its Arts-in-Education Program, and another 2, 000 students through its critically acclaimed Distance Learning Program. write your comments about the article :: © 2017 Jazz News :: home page |