What a night! Jazz should be proud of the day they had at last Saturday’s Newport Jazz Festival!!! Congratulations to all the musicians and our fantastic director Darin! We’re very proud of you!
Jazz Ensemble 1 won the 3A/4A Division and won the festival’s Sweepstakes Award, recognized as the best jazz ensemble at the festival. They competed on Saturday evening in the finals along with Bellevue High School, Interlake High School, and Shorewood High School. Also finishing the festival strong was Mountlake Terrace High School High School Jazz Ensemble 2 who finished as a runner-up in Saturday evening’s finals.
Musicians in both jazz ensembles took home the Outstanding Soloists Award in their respective divisions. Senior Ryan Acheson, alto saxophonist in Jazz Ensemble 1, won the 3A/4A Division and sophomore Jesse Guasch, trumpeter in Jazz Ensemble 2, won the A/AA Division.
Jazz ensembles competed on Saturday morning and afternoon. Adjudicators selected the top 4 ensembles from the 3A/4A and top 3 ensembles from the A/AA Division to compete in Saturday’s finals. Each jazz ensemble performed two songs in Saturday’s finals.
Additional recognition for outstanding performances were given to Jazz Ensemble1 musicians trombonist Bennett Harvey and drummer Gabriel Espitia; and Jazz Ensemble 2 musicians drummer Liam Rees, bassist Ethan Holt, drummer Nigel Denke, and trumpeter Sophia Pigott.
Enjoy the performances from Jazz Ensemble 1 and 2. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Jazz Ensemble 2 Performance
