Newark Academy from Livingston, NJ, under the direction of Julius Tolentino, clinched first place with their impressive set. The second place was awarded to Osceola County School for the Arts from Kissimmee, FL, directed by Jason Anderson, while Agoura High School from Agoura Hills, CA, led by Chad Bloom, secured third place. This year’s competition highlighted the exceptional talent and dedication of young jazz musicians from across the country.
The competition is part of the organization’s festival of events celebrating the 125th birthday of Duke Ellington, one of music’s most influential composers, musicians, and bandleaders; and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s lodestar since the organization’s founding in 1987.
Todd Stoll, Vice President of Education at Jazz at Lincoln Center, presented awards to each of the 15 high school jazz band finalists. Newark Academy from Livingston, NJ took home the first place trophy and an award of $5,000. Osceola County School for the Arts from Kissimmee, FL earned second place honors and a prize of $2,500. Agoura High School from Agoura Hills, CA accepted third place with an award of $1,000. The remaining bands were each awarded $500. All monetary awards will go toward improving the jazz education programs of each respective high school.
During the three-day festival, students engaged in a Q&A with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra during the orchestra’s open rehearsal, section-specific masterclasses, jam sessions with Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra members, pre-performance rehearsals, a celebratory dinner, and more. New this year, in honor of Ellington’s milestone birthday, the program offered eight never-before-available scores of Ellington’s music, each representing a different decade of his career (1920s-70s), which bands had the option to play as part of their submission. The weekend culminated in a Saturday night concert and awards ceremony on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s iconic Rose Theater stage where each top-placing band performed with its choice of Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member as a featured soloist.
The Essentially Ellington competition is one of the year-round programs Jazz at Lincoln Center produces to honor Ellington’s legacy; since the program’s founding in 1996, it has distributed nearly 400,000 Ellington music charts for free to 55,000 high-school bands in 58 countries, involving more than one million students.
Complete list of Essentially Ellington awardees:
1st PLACE
Newark Academy
(Livingston, NJ)
Directed by Julius Tolentino
2nd PLACE
Osceola County School for the Arts
(Kissimmee, FL)
Directed by Jason Anderson
3rd PLACE
Agoura High School
(Agoura Hills, CA)
Directed by Chad Bloom
OUTSTANDING RHYTHM SECTION:
Osceola County School for the Arts
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
Newark Academy
Agoura High School
Susan E. Wagner High School
HONORABLE MENTION RHYTHM SECTION:
Garfield High School
King Philip Regional High School
Byron Center High School
Roosevelt High School
Bothell High School
HONORABLE MENTION SAXOPHONE SECTION:
Beloit Memorial High School
Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage
OUTSTANDING SAXOPHONE SECTION:
Bothell High School
Agoura High School
Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble
Susan E. Wagner High School
HONORABLE MENTION TROMBONE SECTION:
Byron Center High School
Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPag
OUTSTANDING TROMBONE SECTION:
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
Bothell High School
Newark Academy
Agoura High School
Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble
Susan E. Wagner High School
HONORABLE MENTION TRUMPET SECTION:
King Philip Regional High School
OUTSTANDING TRUMPET SECTION:
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble
HONORABLE MENTION BRASS SECTION:
Garfield High School
OUTSTANDING BRASS SECTION:
Osceola County School for the Arts
Bothell High School
HONORABLE MENTION PIANO:
Elliott Beck (Garfield High School)
Miles Wisdom (Beloit Memorial High School)
Aytan Sternberg (Roosevelt High School)
Ori Moore (Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble)
OUTSTANDING PIANO:
Ben Collins-Siegel (Newark Academy)
Nathan Tatsuta (Orange County School of the Arts)
Emmet Althoen (Orange County School of the Arts)
Isaiah Sokol (Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage)
Jared Zhao (Susan E. Wagner High School)
HONORABLE MENTION GUITAR:
Agustin Palao-Osorio (Plano West Senior High School)
Sydney Law (Byron Center High School)
OUTSTANDING GUITAR:
Ari Pereira (Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts)
HONORABLE MENTION BASS:
Lauren Higgins (Beloit Memorial High School)
OUTSTANDING BASS:
Laesio Littlejohn (Plano West Senior High School)
Myles Robinson (Alexander Dreyfoos School of the Arts)
Annie Faul (Roosevelt High School)
Katie Prindle (Bothell High School)
HONORABLE MENTION DRUMS:
Alexander Polyakovsky (Roosevelt High School)
OUTSTANDING DRUMS:
Evan Beck (Garfield High School)
Matthew Black (Osceola County School for the Arts)
Sonialynn Jackson (Osceola County School for the Arts)
Darius Wilson (Beloit Memorial High School)
Shawn Pierce (King Philip Regional High School)
David Aloni (Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts)
Ben Schwartz (Newark Academy)
Calvin Baber (Agoura High School)
Ethan Oliver (Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble)
Ryan Weaver (Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage)
OUTSTANDING FLUTE:
Aidan Gardner (Alexander Dreyfoos School of the Arts)
HONORABLE MENTION CLARINET:
Sky Van Scoyoc (Roosevelt High School)
HONORABLE MENTION SOPRANO SAXOPHONE:
Will Brooks (Byron Center High School)
OUTSTANDING SOPRANO SAXOPHONE:
Samuel Chung (Orange County School of the Arts)
HONORABLE MENTION ALTO SAXOPHONE:
Emily Vu (Orange County School of the Arts)
Sean Mccoy (Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble)
Evan Scamehorn (Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage)
OUTSTANDING LEAD ALTO SAXOPHONE:
Harrison Chisolm (King Philip Regional High School)
OUTSTANDING ALTO SAXOPHONE:
Clayton Bristol (Plano West Senior High School)
Solomon Geleta (Osceola County School for the Arts)
Jack Lieberman (Agoura High School)
HONORABLE MENTION TENOR SAXOPHONE:
Matthew Moore (Plano West Senior High School)
Anna Sayrs (Roosevelt High School)
OUTSTANDING TENOR SAXOPHONE:
Taiyo Fuwa (Roosevelt High School)
Ani Chakravarthy (Newark Academy)
HONORABLE MENTION VIOLA:
Mattix Le (Agoura High School)
HONORABLE MENTION TROMBONE:
Tyler Anderson (Byron Center High School)
Ben Valliere (Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble)
Andrew Krivenko (Susan E. Wagner High School)
OUTSTANDING TROMBONE:
Danial Browne (Osceola County School for the Arts)
Beck Sawtelle (King Philip Regional High School)
Vanessa Fang (Newark Academy)
Jordan Klein (Agoura High School)
James Dechary (Orange County School of the Arts)
Luke Ramee (Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble)
Javin Ganewattage (Susan E. Wagner High School)
HONORABLE MENTION FLUGELHORN:
Rayhan Driver (Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage)
Andrew Gabaldon (Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage)
HONORABLE MENTION TRUMPET:
Liam Lecuona (Agoura High School)
Allison Molin (Orange County School of the Arts)
Andrew Gabaldon (Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage)
Paul Whalen (Susan E. Wagner High School)
OUTSTANDING TRUMPET:
Timothy Park (Garfield High School)
Xavier Anderson (Osceola County School for the Arts)
Dean Cardner (King Philip Regional High School)
Matthew Harper (Alexander Dreyfoos School of the Arts)
Jacob Tolentino (Newark Academy)
Ian Shin (Orange County School of the Arts)
OUTSTANDING LEAD TRUMPET:
Ian Yadon (Beloit Memorial High School)
Ariya Rouzbahani (Agoura High School
Ryan Villamagna (Susan E. Wagner High School)
THE SNOOKY YOUNG AWARD:
Xavier Anderson (Osceola County School for the Arts)
THE ELLA FITZGERALD OUTSTANDING SOLOIST AWARD:
Jordan Klein (Agoura High School)
The top-placing bands were chosen by a judging panel comprising distinguished jazz musicians and historians, including Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra alto saxophonist Sherman Irby, top jazz drummer Jeff Hamilton, acclaimed trumpet player Terell Stafford, esteemed trombonist with the United States Navy Commodores Jennifer Krupa, and renowned trumpet player and educator Sean Jones.
The 2024 Essentially Ellington Competition Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Agoura High School (Agoura Hills, CA)
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts (West Palm Beach, FL)
Beloit Memorial High School (Beloit, WI)
Bothell High School (Bothell, WA)
Byron Center High School (Byron Center, MI)
Garfield High School (Seattle, WA)
King Philip Regional High School (Wrentham, MA)
Newark Academy (Livingston, NJ)
Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana, CA)
Osceola County School for the Arts (Kissimmee, FL)
Plano West Senior High School (Plano, TX)
Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA)
Susan E. Wagner High School (Staten Island, NY)
Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble (Raleigh, NC)
Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (Wheaton, IL)
For more information, please visit jazz.org/ee.
