Sixth Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition
Sixth Annual Essentially Ellington
High School Jazz Band Competition
The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival for 2001 will be held in New York City at Avery Fisher Hall from May 17-19, 2001. This unique music education program has provided the original arrangements of Duke Ellington to over 45,000 high school musicians throughout the U.S. and Canada this year alone.
During the festival, the 15 finalist bands will participate in workshops, jam sessions, and hold rehearsals for the finals in which each band will play three pieces for a panel of judges, other bands and the general public. After the performance of the final band, the judges will announce the three top-placing bands who will then perform in an evening concert, on May 19 at 7:30pm, with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, followed by an awards ceremony.
Over 2,200 high school jazz bands from the entire U.S., the District of Columbia, the U. S. Territories and Canada applied for Essentially Ellington 2001. Each school received a package — provided free of charge — containing six Duke Ellington scores: ‘Blue Cellophane’, ‘Blue Feeling’, ‘I Let A Song Go Out of My Heart’, ‘Pyramid’, ‘Rocks in My Bed’, and ‘Rumpus in Richmond’. From the tapes submitted by each school, only 15 will be chosen as finalists and an announcement will be made on March 3, 2001. The 15 bands will then receive two additional free Ellington scores, ‘Almost Cried’ and ‘Tutti for Cootie’, and a free day of workshops in their schools led by musician/educators from J@LC to help prepare the students for the Festival. The 15 finalists will compete for $32,000 in cash awards at the finals of the competition produced by J@LC.
Admission to the competition is FREE; however, tickets are required and are available at the Avery Fisher Hall box office. Tickets for the evening concert at $10 are available at the Avery Fisher Hall box office or by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500.
