Jazz at Lincoln Center Announces 2023 Jack Rudin Jazz Championship Winners
New York, NY (January 15, 2023) – In an awards ceremony tonight, January 15, 2023, at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, Jazz at Lincoln Center Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis announced the top three university and college jazz band finalists and section awards in the third annual Jack Rudin Jazz Championship.
On January 14-15, nine of the nation’s most well-regarded university jazz programs competed in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2023 Jack Rudin Jazz Championship — a two-day invitational competition at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The bands were immersed in intensive rehearsals and workshops culminating in two rounds of competition and a final concert in Rose Theater.
At the awards ceremony, Wynton Marsalis presented awards: North Carolina Central University (Durham, NC) won first place and an award of $10,000. Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) won second place and an award of $7,500. Michigan State University College of Music (East Lansing, MI) won third place and an award of $5,000. All monetary awards were given to the schools to build on the excellence of their respective jazz education programs.
The awardees were selected by a panel of judges comprised of distinguished jazz musicians and educators: Wynton Marsalis, Jeff Hamilton, Ted Nash, Catherine Russell and Bijon Watson.
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2023 Jack Rudin Jazz Championship Awards:
1st PLACE
North Carolina Central University (Durham, NC)
2nd PLACE
Temple University (Philadelphia, PA)
3rd PLACE
Michigan State University College of Music (East Lansing, MI)
SECTION AWARDS
HONORABLE MENTION RHYTHM SECTION:
Michigan State University College of Music
Northern Illinois University
OUTSTANDING RHYTHM SECTION:
Florida State University
Temple University
HONORABLE MENTION SAXOPHONE SECTION:
North Carolina Central University
OUTSTANDING SAXOPHONE SECTION:
The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University
University of Wyoming
Temple University
HONORABLE MENTION TROMBONE SECTION:
North Carolina Central University
OUTSTANDING TROMBONE SECTION:
Temple University
Northern Illinois University
Vanderbilt University
OUTSTANDING TRUMPET SECTION:
The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University
Temple University
Vanderbilt University
HONORABLE MENTION PIANO:
Jordan Anderson (Michigan State University College of Music)
OUTSTANDING PIANO:
Anthony Aldissi (Temple University)
HONORABLE MENTION GUITAR:
Hugh Downs (Michigan State University College of Music)
Dan Greenleaf (Ithaca College)
HONORABLE MENTION BASS:
Kaleb Thompkins (Florida State University)
OUTSTANDING BASS:
Dan McCain (Temple University)
HONORABLE MENTION DRUMS:
Bryce Schlacter (University of Wyoming)
OUTSTANDING DRUMS:
Nygel Anderson (Florida State University)
Pete Zimmer (Northern Illinois University)
Maria Marmarou (Temple University)
HONORABLE MENTION CLARINET:
Samuel Corey (Michigan State University College of Music)
HONORABLE MENTION SOPRANO SAXOPHONE:
Evon J. Sams (Northern Illinois University)
HONORABLE MENTION ALTO SAXOPHONE:
Dexter Moses (North Carolina Central University)
Adam Abrams (Temple University)
OUTSTANDING ALTO SAXOPHONE:
Thomas Schinabeck (The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University)
Ebban Dorsey (The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University)
HONORABLE MENTION TENOR SAXOPHONE:
Kyle Bramson (Florida State University)
Stephanie Pond (Ithaca College)
Evan Kappelman (Temple University)
OUTSTANDING TENOR SAXOPHONE:
Shaquim Muldrow (North Carolina Central University)
HONORABLE MENTION TROMBONE:
Kirby Fellis (Northern Illinois University)
OUTSTANDING TROMBONE:
Joel Perez (Michigan State University College of Music)
Brandon Seaforth (North Carolina Central University)
Drew Sedlacsik (Temple University)
Jonathan Salcedo (Vanderbilt University)
HONORABLE MENTION TRUMPET:
Wayne Pearcy (Florida State University)
Kevin Tzanetis (The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University)
Micah Miller (University of Wyoming)
Banks Sapnar (Temple University)
HONORABLE MENTION ORIGINAL COMPOSITION:
Micah Miller (University of Wyoming)
EARL HINES OUTSTANDING MUSICIAN AWARD:
Maria Marmarou (Temple University)
+Ensembles competing in the 2023 Jack Rudin Jazz Championship hail from the following colleges and universities:* Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL), Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY), Michigan State University College of Music (East Lansing, MI), North Carolina Central University (Durham, NC), Northern Illinois University (Dekalb, IL), The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), Temple University (Philadelphia, PA), University of Wyoming (Laramie, WY) and Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN).
The Jack Rudin Jazz Championship honors the legacy of Jack Rudin, longtime supporter of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and his founding support for Essentially Ellington, the organization’s signature transformative education program. Launched in 2020, right before the pandemic, the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship provides participating ensembles with quality literature and a forum for celebrating excellence and achievement, while introducing higher education to Jazz at Lincoln Center’s education methodology and philosophy—extending JALC’s educational mission into the sphere of professional development for the next generation of leading jazz artists.
Jazz at Lincoln Center serves the largest jazz education program network in the world, and its initiatives are based on the organization’s 35-year history of education in jazz performance and appreciation. Goals of each program are for students to gain insight into American vernacular music and jazz, learn the communal history of jazz in a sociopolitical context, receive guidance on how to better communicate personal objectives, and gain awareness of the mission of jazz musicians today building on the aspirations laid by earlier generations.
Photos from the competition are available here. Photos by Gabriela Bhaskar for Jazz at Lincoln Center.
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Leadership support for the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship is provided by Jody and John Arnhold.Leadership support for the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship is provided by Jody and John Arnhold.
Major support for the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship is provided by Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Fund, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and Weissman Family Foundation.
Generous support for the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship is provided by the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation.
Leadership support for Jazz at Lincoln Center is made possible through America’s Cultural Treasures, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant through the leadership and support of Senator Charles E. Schumer and the New York Congressional Delegation.
Leadership support is also provided by an Anonymous Donor; Jody and John Arnhold; Mellody Hobson and George Lucas; and Dalio Philanthropies.
Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly acknowledges its major corporate partners: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Con Edison, Entergy, Steinway & Sons, and The Coca-Cola Company.
Press Inquiries:
Madelyn Gardner
Assistant Director, Public Relations and External Communications
Jazz at Lincoln Center
[email protected]