Agoura High School Jazz Band Competes In New York

AGOURA HILLS, CA – The Agoura High School jazz band is one of the top 15 high school jazz bands in the nation to compete in the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 23rd annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, the largest gathering of high school age jazz musicians in America. More than 300 students will compete today through Saturday, according to the Jazz at Lincoln Center press release.

The 15 finalist bands will compete in New York City, where the weekend will kick off with the annual Essentially Ellington Luncheon, held in honor of the 15 finalists, followed by a grand processional where each of the 15 finalist bands will be officially announced.

The event is the culmination the annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program which also includes non-competitive regional festivals around the country, teaching resources, a summer Band Director Academy, and more, according to the press release.

A livestream of all performances can be seen here: www.jazz.org/live.

The top 15 high school jazz bands are:

• Agoura High School (Agoura Hills, CA)
• Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
• Beloit Memorial High School (Beloit, WI)
• Carroll Senior High School (Southlake, TX)
• Champaign Central High School (Champaign, IL)
• Dillard Center for the Arts (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
• Mountlake Terrace High School (Mountlake Terrace, WA)
• Newark Academy (Livingston, NJ)
• Newton South High School (Newton, MA)
• Osceola County School for the Arts (Kissimmee, FL)
• Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA)
• Sun Prairie High School (Sun Prairie, WI)
• Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble (Raleigh, NC)
• Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ)
• William H. Hall High School (West Hartford, CT)

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