SPF Moonglowers Repeat as State Champions

The Moonglowers jazz band from Scotch Plains Fanwood High School won the State Championship in New Jersey Association for Jazz Education’s Division II in a competition in Princeton on April 25. The Moonglowers also won this title in 2014 and more than 10 times since 1979.

Director Vincent Turturiello.noted that the band chose to perform without sheet music. “They were very well prepared and confident, and the audience could hear that. Music comes from the heart,” he added.

In addition to the band championship, the Moonglowers received the award for Outstanding Saxophone section, and senior Alex Karakis, Moonglowers pianist, was awarded the Rick Kerber Scholarship as an outstanding soloist who will be studying music in college. Alex will be attending the Manhattan School of Music in the fall to study Jazz Arts Piano Performance.

Formed in 1942, the Moonglowers are the oldest continuously operated high school jazz band in the state of New Jersey. Since 2007, the Moonglowers have headlined at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in New York City and currently play at numerous community events.