Mount Si Jazz Band chosen for 2017 Essentially Ellington festival at Lincoln Center

February 15, 2017 11:44 am
A small-group jam of Mount Si musicians at Essentially Ellington 2015. Courtesy Photo
A small-group jam of Mount Si musicians at Essentially Ellington 2015. Courtesy Photo

Jazz at Lincoln Center announced its selection of high school bands to participate in the 2017 Essentially Ellington Festival this May, and Mount Si High School is again on the list. Edmonds-Woodway High School of Edmonds, and Mountlake Terrace High School of Mountlake Terrace, were also selected from Washington.

The 22nd Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival will be May 11 to 13.

All Essentially Ellington member bands were invited to submit a recording, and 15 finalists were selected through a rigorous screening process. Each finalist band will receive an in-school workshop led by a professional musician before coming to New York to put up their “Dukes” and perform before Wynton Marsalis and a panel of judges.

On May 11, the bands will arrive in New York City to spend three days immersed in workshops, jam sessions, rehearsals and performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center. On May 13, the festival will conclude with a concert and awards ceremony featuring the three top-placing bands and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.

Festival events, including the final concert featuring the three top-placing bands and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, will be webcast live on jazz.org/live.

The 2017 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band finalists are:

• Mount Si High School, Snoqualmie,

• Mountlake Terrace High School, Mountlake Terrace,

• Edmonds-Woodway High School, Edmonds,

• Byron Center High School, Byron Center, Mich.,

• Champaign Central High School, Champaign, Ill.,

• Denver School of the Arts, Denver, Colo.,

• Dillard Center for the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,

• Osceola County School for the Arts, Orange City, Fla.,

• Foxborough High School, Foxborough, Mass.,

• Lexington High School, Lexington, Mass.,

• Newark Academy, Livingston, NJ,

• Plano West Senior High School, Plano, Texas,

• Sun Prairie High School, Sun Prairie, Wisc.,

• Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble, Raleigh, NC, and

• Tucson Jazz Institute, Tucson, Ariz.

For more information including background, history, photos, and audio recordings of the Essentially Ellington 2017 repertoire, and more, visit jazz.org/ee.