Jazz bands perform together at high school

Jazz bands from the junior highs and high school performed on Monday, Feb. 4 at the high school auditorium. 

Directors Eric Lins, Ben Byersdorfer and Laura Engelhardt directed the Peet Junior High and Holmes Junior High bands respectively, which kicked the show off at 5 p.m. The seventh grade band would play two tunes while the other two junior high bands would play. 

“I enjoy seeing members of both junior high jazz programs combine skill sets as they reach 10th grade, “ Byersdorfer said, “The student success compounds greatly as a consequence of collaborating with many more student musicians. To see this happening every year is extremely satisfying for the band directors as well as the community.”

Succeeding them in order were the high school level bands, in addition to the vocal jazz. This started at 7:30 p.m. with Jazz Too directed by Gerald Ramsey, playing three jazz tunes. The vocal jazz band performed four tunes afterward, and lastly, Jazz One, directed by Kyle Engelhardt, concluded the show with three more tunes. 

“One of the goals we have every year in Jazz One is performing a wide variety of music. The performance in Chicago this year was truly special, and the students in Jazz One learned eight different selections, which was about an hour of music. When we finished that performance, it was truly special,” Engelhardt said. “The students wanted to learn new music, so they worked hard to practice their individual parts at home and come to rehearsal prepared and ready to put everything together.”

Future band performances include the band cookie concert on Monday, Feb. 13, in which all of the high school bands, the concert band, Jazz Too!, the wind symphony and Jazz One will perform in that order. Students have been encouraged to bring snacks and treats as concessions for guests. On Feb. 17, the Tallcorn Jazz Festival will take place at UNI in Davis Hall GB-PAC at 9:15 a.m.

Admission for the jazz show was $5 and students who performed were allowed back into the auditorium to view the remaining performances.

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