Essentially Ellington Winners Announced!

15 HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ BAND
FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR
13th ANNUAL ESSENTIALLY ELLINGTON
COMPETITION & FESTIVAL
IN NEW YORK CITY
MAY 15-17, 2008

Agoura High School Jazz A, Agoura Hills, CA
William H. Hall High School, West Hartford, CT
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL
Champaign Central High School, Champaign, IL
DeKalb High School, DeKalb, IL
Medfield High School, Medfield, MA
River East Collegiate, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Stephen F. Austin High School, Austin, TX
South Whidbey High School, Langley, WA
Mountlake Terrace High School, Mountlake Terrace, WA
Garfield High School, Seattle, WA
Roosevelt High School, Seattle, WA
Shorewood High School, Shoreline, WA
Eau Claire Memorial High School, Eau Claire, WI
Sun Prairie High School, Sun Prairie, WI
Winners of Conglomerate Band Workshop:
Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage, South Elgin, IL
Pacific Crest Community School, Portland, OR

Winners of Essentially Ellington Student Essay Contest:
FIRST PLACE: Kelsey Van Dalfsen, Mountlake Terrace High School, Mountlake Terrace, WA
SECOND PLACE: Lina A. Colucci, Lexington High School, Lexington, MA
THIRD PLACE: Emily A. Pecoraro, Guilford High School, Guilford, CT

Jazz at Lincoln Center announces the 15 finalist bands for its prestigious 13th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival. The bands will compete and participate in workshops, jam sessions and more, during the three-day competition and festival in New York City. The top-placing bands perform with Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Wynton Marsalis, as guest soloist, followed by a performance by the 15-piece Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra – all of whom serve as mentors for the finalist bands throughout the weekend. The festival culminates with an awards ceremony honoring outstanding soloists, sections and the top three bands. The Competition & Festival is the cumulation of the annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program (EE), which also includes regional festivals, curriculum resources, a summer Band Director Academy, monthly newsletters and more.

Judges: WYNTON MARSALIS, DAVID BERGER, REGINALD THOMAS, BOB WILBER
In-School Clinicians: RON CARTER, JUSTIN DICIOCCIO, VINCENT GARDNER, VICTOR GOINES, WYCLIFFE GORDON, LOREN SCHOENBERG, TERELL STAFFORD and RODNEY WHITAKER
Mentors: members of the JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA
EE Essay Contest: judged by DAN MORGENSTERN
WHEN/WHERE:

Competition & Festival: May 15-17 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Final Concert: May 17 at Avery Fisher Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Free tickets for the Competition can be obtained at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, Broadway at 60th Street beginning on April 25. Tickets for the Concert and Awards Ceremony are $20 or $25 and available now at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500

BACKGROUND/STATISTICS:
Throughout March and April, Jazz at Lincoln Center will send, free of charge, a professional musician to each of the 15 finalist schools to lead an intensive day-long workshop of rehearsals, lessons and master classes. The free clinics are part of the rich 13-year history of this unique music education program, which has reached more than 275,000 students in more than 4,000 high schools across all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and American schools abroad. Essentially Ellington has produced and distributed more than 80,000 copies of 81 previously unavailable Ellington scores and 177 finalist bands have come to New York City to participate in the annual Competition & Festival.

This year Jazz at Lincoln Center distributed more than 4,900 newly transcribed Ellington scores, reference recordings and additional educational materials.
These materials were sent to 900 high schools in the United States, Canada and American schools in Bolivia, Brazil, France, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Switzerland, Taiwan and The Virgin Islands.
82 bands entered the competition by submitting a recorded performance of three Ellington compositions.
The entries were evaluated in a blind screening by jazz education experts RON CARTER and LOREN SCHOENBERG.
15 finalists were selected.
Seventh Annual Essentially Ellington Student Essay Contest

This year, Jazz at Lincoln Center continues the Seventh Annual Essentially Ellington Student Essay Contest, inviting students from all participating Essentially Ellington high schools to submit an essay describing a personal experience with jazz. 53 essays were received from across the country and Canada, from which author and scholar DAN MORGENSTERN chose the winners. In addition to other prizes including jazz CDs and jazz literature, the first place winner will name a seat in Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center and be awarded a trip to New York to read her essay during the festival.

For more information or a schedule of events, visit: www.EssentiallyEllington.org