High school jazzers from Byron Center and Northview are heading to swing central. The Byron Center High School Jazz Orchestra and the Northview High School Jazz Band are two of 12 bands nationwide who will blow their horns March 30-April 1 at Swing Central Jazz, a workshop and competition held annually at the Savannah Music Festival in Georgia.
The three-day event immerses student musicians in jazz, swing and big band music. They will attend Music Festival concerts and participate in clinics with jazz pros including pianist Marcus Roberts, trumpeter Jim Ketch, drummer Jason Marsalis, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, trombonist Ron Westray and bassist Rodney Whitaker.
The bands will perform an outdoor concert and take part in a final competition concert at Lucas Theatre for the Arts.
It is the third year in a row that the Byron Center ensemble, directed by Marc Townley, has been chosen for the festival. The Northview band, directed by Greg Wells, this year became just the second Michigan band to be selected. Bands submit recordings that are reviewed by an independent panel of professionals.
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Bands competing in 2016 Swing Central Jazz
Byron Center Jazz Orchestra’s selection in 2015
