NA’s Big Band “Chameleon” Will Perform in 22nd Annual Essentially Ellington Competition
Newark Academy's select big band "Chameleon" was chosen as one of the 15 finalists to perform live at the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, which will be held May 11-13, 2017 at Lincoln Center.
Chameleon will perform live on May 12. Watch the performances live on Jazz at Lincoln Center's website.
The school will be making its third appearance at Essentially Ellington, under the direction of educator and saxophonist, Julius Tolentino. The Newark Academy Big Band has been recognized nationally and has been awarded first place in the New Jersey Association for Jazz Education State Festival for the past seven years.
The school will be making its third appearance at Essentially Ellington, under the direction of educator and saxophonist, Julius Tolentino. The Newark Academy Big Band has been recognized nationally and has been awarded first place in the New Jersey Association for Jazz Education State Festival for the past seven years.
The annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival is one of the most innovative jazz education events in the world. It is known as the "super bowl" of high school jazz band competitions, attracting the top programs in the country. Each year, high school musicians from across North America travel to New York City to spend three days immersed in workshops, jam sessions, rehearsals and performances at the “House of Swing,” Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
The Competition & Festival is the culmination of the yearlong Essentially Ellington program, during which participating bands are invited to submit a recording and 15 finalists are selected through a rigorous screening process. Each finalist band receives an in-school workshop led by a professional musician before coming to New York to perform before Wynton Marsalis and a panel of esteemed judges.
The festival concludes with a concert and awards ceremony featuring the three top-placing bands and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
An independent school for students in grades 6-12