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Jazz At Lincoln Center Announces Winners of 19th Essentially Ellington Competition 2014

First Place: Tucson Jazz Institute, Tucson, AZ
Second Place: Jazz House Kids, Montclair, NJ
Third Place: Dillard Center for the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Honorable Mention: Garfield High School, Seattle, WA

Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly announces the top high school jazz bands in the nation who took the highest honors tonight at the prestigious 19th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival (EE) at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

After a packed three days of mentoring, jam sessions, and workshops, EE culminated at tonight’s concert, where the top-placing bands each performed with their choice Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) member. The second half of the final concert featured the world-renowned JLCO with Wynton Marsalis – whose members served as mentors for the finalist bands throughout the week – performing a repertoire of tunes made famous by Duke Ellington.

Each band was chosen by a panel of judges composed of distinguished jazz musicians and historians – Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Artistic and Managing Director, Wynton Marsalis; composer, conductor, and Ellington authority, David Berger; drummer and co-leader of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Hamilton; educator and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra trombonist, Chris Chrenshaw; and composer, arranger, and bassist extraordinaire, Chuck Israels.

Culminating at the ceremony, Wynton Marsalis presented awards to each of the 15 finalist high school jazz bands. Doug Tidaback, director of Tucson Jazz Institute, accepted the 1st place trophy and an award of $5,000. Julius Tolentino, director of Jazz House Kids, accepted the 2nd place trophy and an award of $2,500. Christopher Dorsey, director of Dillard Center for the Arts, accepted the 3rd place trophy with an award of $1,000. Garfield High School, directed by Clarence Acox, received honorable mention with an award of $750. The remaining eleven bands were each awarded cash awards of $500. All monetary awards are to be used for improving the jazz education programs of each respective high school.

Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 19th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival Awards

First Place
Tucson Jazz Institute, Tucson, AZ

Second Place
Jazz House Kids, Montclair, NJ

Third Place
Dillard Center for the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Honorable Mention
Garfield High School, Seattle, WA

SOLIST AWARDS

The Ella Fitzgerald Outstanding Soloist Award
Robbie Lee on Piano and Vocals, Tucson Jazz Institute
Coleman Hughes on Trombone, Jazz House Kids

Outstanding Piano
Conner Drake, Mount Si High School
Sean Kim, Lexington High School
Isiah Thompson, Jazz House Kids
Jack Swiggett, Garfield High School
Max Holm, Dillard Center for the Arts
Ulysses McClover, Dillard Center for the Arts
Honorable Mention, Piano
Alice Mar-Abe, Garfield High School
Joshua Kravirtz, Rio Americano High School

Outstanding Bass
Christian Henriksen, Mount Si High School
Will Langlie-Miletich, Roosevelt High School
Maclain Dodson, Beloit Memorial High School
Emma Hollis, Rio Americano High School
Chris Mills, Dillard Center for the Arts

Outstanding Guitar
Peter Stoessel, Roosevelt High School
David Zyto, Jazz House Kids
Devan Kortan (Banjo), Rio Americano High School
Zachary Auslander, Dillard Center for the Arts
Honorable Mention, Guitar
Rahsaan Pickett, Jazz House Kids

Outstanding Drums
Kyle Benford, Community Arts Program
Cameron Macintosh, Jazz House Kids
Zachary McKinney, Dillard Center for the Arts
Honorable Mention, Drums
Nianah Lowell, Osceola County School for the Arts
Luke Woodle, Roosevelt High School

Outstanding Clarinet
Gabriel Paco, Tucson Jazz Institute
Katie Oldenburg, Beloit Memorial High School
Honorable Mention, Clarinet
Tevin Li, Lexington High School
Ben Slightom, Whiteland Community High School

Outstanding Alto
Nathan Altmann, Sun Prairie High School
Kira Daglio Fine, Lexington High School
Anna Dolde, Roosevelt High School
Alex Laurenzi, Jazz House Kids
Zoe Obadia, Jazz House Kids
Lucas Bere, Rio Americano High School
Christian Cummings, Dillard Center for the Arts
Honorable Mention, Alto
Alan Acosta, Tucson Jazz Institute

Outstanding Tenor
Aubrey Martin, Tucson Jazz Institute
Sergio Tabanibo, Tucson Jazz Institute
Hersh Gupta, Lexington High School
Anton Derevyanko, Medfield High School
Jack Ferguson, Jazz House Kids
Santosh Sharma, Roosevelt High School
Ben Stocker, Dillard Center for the Arts
Isak Washburn-Gains, Garfield High School
Jesse Beckett-Herbert, Roosevelt High School
Taka Olds, Roosevelt High School
Honorable Mention, Tenor
Boone Hapke, Mount Si High School
Charles Sawyer, Garfield High School

Outstanding Baritone
David Lasansky, Tucson Jazz Institute
Wes Christmann, Jazz House Kids

Outstanding Trombone
Bryan Diaz, Community Arts Program
Johnathan Black, Tucson Jazz Institute
Sam Chess, Tucson Jazz Institute
Coleman Hughs, Jazz House Kids
Kevin Jiang, Jazz House Kids
John Marks, Beloit Memorial High School
Honorable Mention, Trombone
Porter Jones, Roosevelt High School

Outstanding Trumpet
Shawn Fernandez, Osceola County School for the Arts
Jeffrey Gustaveson, Roosevelt High School
Leslie Kolke, Mount Si High School
Lauren Otto, Beloit Memorial High School
Andrew Stephens, Rio Americano High School
Anthony Hervey, Dillard Center for the Arts
Fernando Ferrarone, Community Arts Program
Wallace Roney Jr., Jazz House Kids
Liam Werner, Jazz House Kids

Honorable Mention, Trumpet
Kalina Kostka, Sun Prairie High School
John Otten, Roosevelt High School
Rubin Hohlbein, Roosevelt High School
Chuck Myers, Whiteland Community High School
Charles Feig, Garfield High School
Thomas Renehan, Garfield High School

Outstanding Vocals
Robbie Lee, Tucson Jazz Institute
Chris Weisberg, Carroll Senior High School

OUTSTANDING SECTIONS

Outstanding Saxophone Section
Tucson Jazz Institute, Tucson, AZ
Beloit Memorial High School, Beloit, WI
Roosevelt High School, Seattle, WA
Rio Americano High School, Sacramento, CA
Honorable Mention, Saxophone Section
Lexington High School, Lexington, MA

Outstanding Brass Section
Carroll Senior High School, Southlake, TX
Mount Si High School, Snoqualmie, WA

Outstanding Trombone Section
Tucson Jazz Institute, Tucson, AZ
Medfield High School, Medfield, MA
Garfield High School, Seattle, WA
Dillard Center for the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Outstanding Trumpet Section
Garfield High School, Seattle, WA

Outstanding Pep Section
Jazz House Kids, Montclair, NJ
Garfield High School, Seattle, WA

Outstanding Rhythm Section
Dillard Center for the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Honorable Mention, Rhythm Section
Mount Si High School, Snoqualmie, WA

In the spirit of creativity and continuing the jazz legacy, Jazz at Lincoln Center also recognized the winner of the 2nd Annual Gerhard W. Vosshall Essentially Ellington Student Composition/Arranging Contest, Jeric Rocamora, of Rio Americano High School (Sacramento, CA). Each submission was critiqued by composer, arranger, and Ellington authority, David Berger, and the winning selection was recorded by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) at their annual Essentially Ellington recording session on Wednesday, May 7. In addition, the winning composer received a cash prize, a composition lesson with David Berger, and a trip to New York City to observe the JLCO recording session and the 2014 Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival. The Contest was made possible through a generous gift from the Vosshall family in honor of their father, Gerhard W. Vosshall.

The Competition & Festival is the culmination of the annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program (EE), which also includes non-competitive regional festivals around the country, teaching resources, a summer Band Director Academy, newsletters, and more. The year-long Essentially Ellington program will have distributed more than 21,600 newly transcribed scores by the end of this school year. For more information including background, history, photos, and audio recordings of the Essentially Ellington 2014 repertoire, and more, visit: http://academy.jalc.org/ee/

This year, the Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival was more media accessible than ever via JALC social media on Facebook, Twitter EssEllington, Instagram jalcnyc, and Tumblr. Throughout the weekend, students, viewers, and participants shared their thoughts and photos by using the hashtag #EE2014.

The 15 Finalists for Essentially Ellington 2014 (in alphabetical order):
Beloit Memorial High School (Beloit, WI); Carroll Senior High School (Southlake, TX); Community Arts Program (Coral Gables, FL); Dillard Center for the Arts (Fort Lauderdale, FL); Garfield High School (Seattle, WA); Jazz House Kids (Montclair, NJ); Lexington High School (Lexington, MA); Medfield High School (Medfield, MA); Mount Si High School (Snoqualmie, WA); Osceola County School for the Arts (Kissimmee, FL); Rio Americano High School (Sacramento, CA); Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA); Sun Prairie High School (Sun Prairie, WI); Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ); Whiteland Community High School (Whiteland, IN).

Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2013-14 Concert and Education Season boasts a diverse range of artistry and embodies the concept “all jazz is modern.”
Click here for the complete season schedule

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Comments

  1. Great Fun.

    Delighted to see so many talented youngsters enjoying Jazz, the original
    American art form.

    Great Section Work and super solos on the trumpets, bones, saxes, piano.

    Ellington is of course an evergreen Jazz icon.

    I hope some of the participants will continue their interest in Jazz and
    hopefully, some will take it up as a career although Jazz is a very competetive
    and tough world to get into.

    Best.

    Girish Trivedi
    5 Indrayani
    61-D Warden Road
    Mumbai 400026, India

    Girish Trivedi on Jul 23rd, 2014 at 12:44pm

  2. This list omits a number of individual “Outstanding” recognitions awarded to kids from Tucson Jazz Institute (possibly others, but noticed the TJI omissions), including my brother, Jeff Sandberg, who was awarded “Outstanding Bass” at the competition. Please revisit this list and ensure that all winners are included!

    Marissa on May 11th, 2014 at 1:40pm