Jazz Ensemble Selects Musicians; Music of Miles Davis and Charles Mingus
“The audition music is not super hard this year,” Robbie Strang ‘18, saxophonist, said. “But I’d like to get into Ensemble if I can.”
Making it into the Jazz Ensemble is not easy. This year, only three underclassmen were invited into the Jazz Ensemble: Percussionist Aidan Smith ’19, Trombonist Kolbe Schnoebelen ’19, and Alto Saxophonist Lillian Prybil ’19.
The musicians were introduced to three different jazz groups: the Jazz Workshop, the middle-ranked Jazz Lab, and finally the nationally ranked Jazz Ensemble. The majority of the incoming freshmen will end up in the Jazz Workshop for the next two trimesters, while the upperclassmen will aim for the Jazz Ensemble, formed from many of City’s best musicians.
“It’s an extra fun activity that I can participate in with my friends,” Sam Fast ‘17, saxophonist, said.
Students gazed on the audition results. A chorus of emotion erupted from the crowd as students discovered which band their peers and they were placed in.
“I’m really excited to work with the Ensemble this year,” Emi Bergman-Corbet ’17 said. “It’s a great group to work with and I’ve been working up to this my entire high school career.”
Unfortunately for some, Jazz Ensemble is smaller than the other jazz groups, and fewer students make it in.
“I would have liked to get into Ensemble,” Sam Fast ‘17 said. “But I understand that there is a lot more practicing involved [compared to Jazz Lab] and that just isn’t for me.”
Students receive their respective music and are quickly sent back to class. For Jazz Ensemble some of the pieces include “Blue Miles” by Chick Corea Elektric Band II, “Boogie Stop Shuffle” by Charles Mingus, and “Round Midnight” by Miles Davis.
“I know from South East we’re getting an extremely talented group of freshman performing at the state level. We’re also adding on people from other schools. Northwest is also sending some great players over.” City High’s Jazz Band Director Ryan Arp said. “I’m very excited about the 9th-grade class.”
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