First Middle School All-State Jazz Band Festival at Yankton High School

Excitement spread all over the Yankton High School band room and theater this coming Saturday. The two of the most prestigious jazz band in U.S will compete against 40 middle school jazz musicians in Yankton for the first Middle School All-State Jazz Band weekend showoff.

Yankton High School Band Director Todd Carr claimed in a statement at Yankton.net that their jazz team was in kind of intense for the First Middle School All-State Jazz Band Festival. He can tell that the Yankton Jazz team is in full of potential, that every skill of his 40 musicians has the capability of showing off what they are.

The co-chairman of First Middle School All-State Jazz Band Festival and treasurer of South Dakota Music Education Association Laura Schenck stated in an inaugural speech at Middle School all-State Jazz Band that they planned 20 years to inject the idea of a Jazz middle school all-state competition for 20 years to give opportunities to the middle young ones that they have talents especially to music.

She plans to form two independent bands from an arbitrate audition process of young jazz musicians from the middle schools of South Dakota. Being the debutant to the First Middle School All-State Jazz Band Festival, she hoped that she can produce two bands with different instruments from the said audition. From 65 students that auditioned within 19 district schools across South Dakota, the jazz band was formed including sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

Laura Schenck used a similar format in any audition process for All-State Band where each student that will audition will learn a variety of scales in both jazz and concert styles, playing two different etudes in contrasting styles. They will record each student performance where they were the judge in a blind audition one-by-one process for the First Middle School All-State Jazz Band Festival.

On the other hand, Honor Band which was conducted by Doug Beach will feature five trumpets, five trombones, five saxophones and a rhythm section of piano, bass, and drums along with a guitar player. Doug Beach was acknowledged by his talent as a performer, composer, publisher and a jazz educator that lead him to win a Grammy Award from his works, according to Kendor Music.

The middle school musicians received their competition notice last Jan. 9, so it will be a month of hard work for their music before competing into the First Middle School All-State Jazz Band Festival this Saturday. The First Middle School All-State Jazz Band Festival will be sponsored by Blues Society, Sioux Falls Jazz, Schmitt Music, Poppler's Music and Yamaha.

The First Middle School All-State Jazz Band Festival will start at 3 PM in Yankton High School this Saturday. Tickets are available at $5 for adults and free for k-12 students.

TagsMiddle School All-State Jazz Band Festival, Middle School All-State Jazz Band Festival Update, Middle School All-State Jazz Band Festival NEws, Middle School All-State Jazz Band Festival Teams