9th annual event celebrates the musical genius of a jazz legend; Showcases dozens of talented high school students from across the United States – Competition, Concerts, and Film Screening FREE to the public!
February 6, 2017 (NEW YORK): The Rio Americano High School Jazz Combo in Sacramento, California, directed by band leader Max Keisner, is one of 12 finalists from across the U.S. to take part in the 9th Annual Charles Mingus High School Competition & Festival, February 17th-20th 2017 at the Manhattan School of Music and the Jazz Standard club in midtown Manhattan. High school students from across the US will celebrate the music of the late, great jazz bassist and composer, Charles Mingus (1922–1979). Once again, the event will be hosted at both Manhattan School of Music (MSM), with performances by the Mingus Big band and Orchestra at the Jazz Standard.
The event is organized and presented by MSM and by Sue Mingus and Let My Children Hear Music/ The Charles Mingus Institute and the MSM Jazz Arts Program.
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE US
The 12 finalists’ ensembles– six combos, and six big bands– taking part in this year’s festival and competition are from California, Oklahoma, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts (please see list of schools below).
“Charles Mingus was an important figure in 20th-century American music and an important link in the lineage of jazz composition that goes back to Jelly Roll Morton,” said MSM President, Dr. James Gandre. “He was a pioneering jazz composer, virtuoso bass player, and bandleader who wrote in many different styles, for a variety of small ensembles, jazz big band and full orchestra.”
Sue Mingus, who notes that Mingus’s music “came out of church and was drenched in the blues,” formed the first Mingus repertory group, the Mingus Dynasty, in 1979 and has overseen the performance and publishing of Mingus music ever since.
Mingus’s compositions– which, along with his scores, correspondence, original manuscripts, and more, were acquired by the Library of Congress in 1993 – are kept alive today on stages around the world and are frequently heard on screens big and small: in films by directors such as Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese and in television programs such as Orange is the New Black and Law & Order. His compositions have been covered by many artists including Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, Keith Richards, and Henry Rollins.
DETAILS ABOUT THE FESTIVAL AND COMPETITION
On Saturday, February 18, participating students will explore aspects of Mingus’s music via clinics, workshops, lectures, and films at MSM on 122 Street at Broadway. The public is welcome to attend the film screening and performance by the Mingus Dynasty. Saturday’s events will conclude with a student finalists’ jam session.
The high school finalists’ competition on Sunday, February 19 is open to the public, as is the concluding concert and Awards Ceremony, in Neidorff-Karpati Hall from 9:30 am to 5:45 pm. That evening, outstanding soloists from the competition will be invited to sit in with the Mingus Big Band, who will perform all weekend at the Jazz Standard on 116 East 27 Street (between Park and Lexington).
“The festival gives outstanding high school students around the country the opportunity to perform at an advanced level while enriching their school programs,” says James Gandre. “It’s wonderful for students to be challenged by this music and to begin to form networks with other outstanding jazz musicians.”
For a full schedule of events, visit: msmnyc.edu/Mingus
For further information: ctoriaga@msmnyc.edu
The finalists (in alphabetical order by school) are:
BIG BAND CATEGORY
Boston Latin High School Big Band, Boston, MA.
Band Director: Paul J. Pitts
Lexington High School Jazz Ensemble, Lexington, MA.
Band Director: Patrick Donaher
Medfield High School Jazz Band, Medfield, MA.
Band Director: Douglas Olsen
COMBO CATEGORY
Berkeley High School Combo A, Berkeley, Ca.
Band Director: Sarah Cline
Newark Academy Combo, Livingston, NJ.
Band Director: Julius Tolentino
Rio Americano High School Jazz Combo, Sacramento, CA.
Band Director: Max Keisner
BIG BAND CATEGORY – Specialized Schools and Programs
Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Studio Ensemble, New York, NY.
Band Director: Kenny Rampton
Jazz House Big Band, Jazz House Kids. Montclair, NJ.
Band Director: Julius Tolentino
SFJAZZ High School All Stars Big Band, San Francisco, CA.
Band Director: Paul Contos
COMBO CATEGORY – Specialized Schools and Program
Jazz House Ambassadors, Jazz House Kids, Montclair, NJ.
Band Director: Mike Lee
SFJAZZ High School All Stars Combo, San Francisco, CA.
Band Director: Dann Zinn
Tulsa Jambassadors, Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, Tulsa, OK.
Band Director: Doug Styers
FRIDAY, FEB 17–MONDAY, FEB 20
2017 Festival Performances at the Jazz Standard
116 E. 27th Street (Between Park & Lexington)
MINGUS BIG BAND
FEB 17–18 FRI–SAT 7:30 PM, 9:30 PM, 11:30 PM ($30/$15 students)
FEB 19 SUN 7:30 PM, 9:30 PM ($25/$12.50 students)
Outstanding Soloist Winners will be invited to sit in with the band on Sunday.
MINGUS ORCHESTRA
FEB 20 MON 7:30 PM, 9:30 PM ($25/$12.50 students)
SATURDAY, FEB 18
FULL DAY OF CLINICS, MASTER CLASSES, AND JAM SESSIONS for student finalists only.
Film clips and performance by Mingus Dynasty – free and open to the public.
Manhattan School of Music
122nd Street and Broadway
http://www.msmnyc.edu
12 PM Mingus Film Clips
12:30 PM Mingus Dynasty Performance
Abraham Burton (Alto Saxophone), Brandon Write (Tenor Saxophone), Philip Harper (Trumpet), Frank Lacy (Trombone), David Kikoski (Piano), Mike Richmond (Bass), Adam Cruz (Drums)
Neidorff-Karpati Hall
SUNDAY, FEB 19
Mingus High School COMPETITION followed by a performance by
the MSM Mingus Ensemble and Awards Ceremony
Manhattan School of Music
NEIDORFF-KARPATI HALL
122nd Street at Broadway
Free and open to the public
Combo adjudicators: Abraham Burton, Frank Lacy, Mike Richmond
Big Band adjudicators: Conrad Herwig, Andy Mckee, Alex Norris
9:30 AM
Regular Combo
11:15 AM
Specialized Combo
1:45 PM
Regular Big Band
3:30 PM
Specialized Big Band
5:15 PM
MSM Mingus Ensemble, Directed by Frank Lacy
5:45 PM
Award Ceremony
Presented by Sue Mingus and MSM Jazz Arts
ABOUT THE MINGUS BIG BAND
Charles Mingus’s compositions retain the soulful feel of gospel music and the blues while containing elements of free jazz, bop, and classical music. The 14-piece Mingus Big Band celebrates Mingus, under the artistic direction of Sue Mingus. The Mingus Big Band plays regularly at the Jazz Standard in New York City and tours extensively in the United States and abroad; it has 11 recordings, six of which have been nominated for Grammy Awards.
ABOUT “LET MY CHILDREN HEAR MUSIC”/ THE CHARLES MINGUS INSTITUTE:
Founded in 1986 by Sue Mingus, “Let My Children Hear Music” is devoted to promoting the legacy of composer Charles Mingus through performance, education, publishing and archives. For more information visit: mingusmingusmingus.com .
About MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Founded as a settlement music school by Janet Daniels Schenck in 1918, today Manhattan School of Music is recognized for its 950 superbly talented undergraduate and graduate students who come from more than 60 countries and nearly all 50 states; a world-renowned artist-teacher faculty; and innovative curricula. The School is dedicated to the personal, artistic, and intellectual development of aspiring musicians, from its Precollege students through those pursuing postgraduate studies.
Offering both classical and jazz training – and, beginning in fall 2016, a Bachelor’s degree program in musical theater – MSM grants Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees, as well as the Professional Studies Certificate and Artist Diploma. Additionally, true to MSM’s origins as a music school for children, the Precollege program continues to offer superior music instruction to young musicians between the ages of five and 18. The School also serves some 2,000 New York City schoolchildren through its Arts-in-Education Program, and another 2,000 students through its critically acclaimed Distance Learning Program.
