On Friday, April 13, parents and students crowded the cafeteria for the school’s annual “All That Jazz” concert. In top form, the Jazz Band did not disappoint the packed crowd.
As Chris Nolan’13 explained, this year’s concert included a great mix of traditional jazz songs and more untraditional jazz-fusion: “We’ve got some good stuff going. Some real soul. Some real emotion. That’s what jazz is all about.”
The Jazz Band, which is still relatively new, has grown considerably in recent years. It now includes a select group of 7th and 8th graders. While the group is coincidentally all male this year, Mrs. Sneeringer hopes more girls will join this fall.
As this was Jazz Band’s last concert of the year, Mrs. Sneeringer presented two awards at the event. The Louis Armstrong national award–and the band’s highest award–was presented to Stephan Kim’12. Additionally, Carter Kistler’15 was presented with “most improved award,” the first such honor given in the band’s history.
Although the band meets during zero periods, it is clearly a product of a lot of hard work. This most recent concert was just another positive manifestation of all the musicians’ rigor. As Nolan’13 says, “I wouldn’t want to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to do anything else.”
Written by Harry Wexner’13
