River Rats Advance to Top 10 in Competition’s Milestone 30th Year
The Ann Arbor Huron Jazz Orchestra secured a coveted spot among the top 30 high school jazz ensembles worldwide at this year’s Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival.
The milestone comes as the prestigious festival celebrated its 30th anniversary by doubling participation from 15 to 30 invited bands, selected from 127 audition submissions from high school programs across the globe. The musicians not only earned their place among this elite group but advanced further, reaching the top 10 finalists in the competitive rounds held in New York.
The Essentially Ellington festival, founded in 1987 by jazz legend Wynton Marsalis and fellow musicians, has revolutionized jazz education in high schools. This year’s expanded format welcomed finalists from the United States, Australia, Japan, and Spain, with each band performing three pieces from the festival’s signature Ellington library.
The students’ journey began with their successful audition tape submission, followed by intensive preparation under the guidance of MSU tenor saxophonist Walter Blanding. Blanding, whose career includes collaborations with Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, and Wynton Marsalis, provided expert coaching that helped prepare the ensemble for the national stage.
In New York, the combined Huron High School and Community High School students received additional mentorship from Kenny Rampton, renowned trumpeter with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra since 2010. The professional feedback during rehearsals proved instrumental in the band’s strong first-round performance.
While they didn’t make the final exhibition concert at the Metropolitan Opera House, the experience was a tribute to the hard work of these students and their directors Rob Ash, Evaristo Rodriguez, and Jack Wagner.
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