Nurturing the next generation of jazz performers is integral to our mission and on the final day of the Charleston Jazz Festival, we are celebrating our up-and-coming student musicians from around South Carolina! Come hear from some of the best youth jazz artists including our own Charleston All Star High School Jazz Band, a program of our Charleston Jazz Academy. The performance will be held on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at Revive Charleston – Faith Church, located on 1527 Remount Road, North Charleston, SC 29406, from 3pm – 6pm. Tickets are $5 for adults and FREE for students/children. Tickets are required for this event and are available at www.charlestonjazz.com
Performers to include:
Charleston Southern University Jazz Band
The CSU Jazz Band, in its 20th year under the direction of Professor Mark Sterbank, is a select ensemble providing students the opportunity to play in a large ensemble setting covering styles from the swing era to the present day. The ensemble rehearses twice a week and performs on and off campus throughout the school year. The band has performed at the Folly Jazz Festival, the Goose Creek Jazz Festival and performs regularly for the Summerville Music Club and the Elms Community. The band also serves to train and equip future music educators, who regularly make up the largest number of the various majors represented.
Westview Middle School Jazz Band
The Westview Middle School 8th Grade Jazz Ensemble, located in Goose Creek, is under the direction of Ronnie Ward. The band is in its 17th year and is a class that meets for 45 minutes per day. This group just recently performed their first two gigs for this school year. They have performed for Berkeley Electric Cooperative’s Annual meeting and just a few days later performed an entirely different set for a “Jazzy Christmas” at Crowfield Baptist. They have received Superior Ratings for the past 4 years at Berkeley County’s Jazz Performance Assessment.
Westside High School Jazz Combo
The Westside High School Jazz Combo, located in Anderson, SC, is under the direction of Dr. Alston Pettigrew. The Westside Jazz Combo has been in existence for three years and is a part of the Jazz Education Program at Westside High School. This group meets during our school’s intervention period and is regularly asked to play for school and community events. During the 2019 – 2020 school year, the Westside Jazz Combo has performed on WSPA’s (Channel 7) morning show ‘Your Carolina with Jack and Megan,’ the Market Theatre Company’s ‘Million Dreams for New Year’s Eve Celebration,’ and many other educational performances in our community.
Will Crowther – Alto Saxophone
Kevin Galicia – Tenor Saxophone
Jude Collins – Trombone
Dalvin Gray – Drums
Ryan Malcolm – Bass Guitar
Charleston School of the Arts Jazz Band
The Charleston School of the Arts Jazz Ensemble, also known as “SOA JAZZ”, is one of the most popular performing ensembles at the school. They are the stars of the annual “Jump, Jive and Wail” event, held every October at the Charleston Visitors Center. Featuring the best of swing, Latin and popular styles, the members of this group perform at a professional level. Members of the Jazz Ensemble have performed in the ETV special, “the Song of Pumpkin Brown”, based on the story of the Jenkins Orphanage Band. Members of the band also were seen in the movie “The Notebook”, filmed in Charleston a few years ago, as well as the cable series “Vice Principals” and “Mr. Mercedes”. Over the past decade, the SC Band Directors Association has recognized more members of the SOA JAZZ as “All-State” Jazz musicians than any other school in the state. Many of the musicians performing at this event are already playing professionally in many restaurants and other venues around the Charleston area.
The SOA Jazz serve as musical ambassadors for the school and the Charleston area. The band has performed at the East Carolina University Jazz Festival, the Savannah Music Festival, the Spoleto Festival and the SC Music Educators Conference. The band has worked with some of the leading jazz artists in the Charleston area, and has performed at many major events around the Lowcountry. They have appeared locally at the Folly Jazz Festival and the Charleston Jazz Festival. Last May, they performed with Lonnie Hamilton, Robbie Madison, Demetrius Doctor and David Carter at the “Giants of Jazz” concert at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston. There is no finer group of young jazz musicians than the SOA JAZZ!
College of Charleston Jazz Combo
The College of Charleston Jazz Combo 1 is the premier student jazz ensemble at the College of Charleston. This quartet is comprised of some of the best young musicians in the area, several of whom are already working professionally on a regular basis.
Chandler Taylor – guitar
Misha Pekar – piano
Tim Khayat – bass
Miller Boone – drums
Wando High School Jazz Band
The Wando Jazz Program, under the direction of Jeff Handel, consists of three auditioned student ensembles and a case based ensemble. The Festival Jazz Band is Wando’s premier jazz ensemble with a standard big band instrumentation that rehearses once per week after Schoo. They have performed at the South Carolina Music Educators’ In-Service Convention and the Charleston Jazz Festival, in addition to other Wando events. They have performed with several guest artists in the past, including Charlton Singleton, Adam Rapa, Nat McInotosh, and many others.
Charleston All-Star High School Jazz Band
Formerly known as CASYJO, this all-star high school jazz band is comprised of Charleston’s top youth jazz musicians hand-picked by area high school band directors and music teachers. Led by David W. Carter. Jr, Director of Education and Outreach for Charleston Jazz, this ensemble serves as the finale performance of our annual Charleston Jazz Festival.
Jack Rose – Alto Saxophone (Philip Simmons High School)
Timothy Bulson – Alto Saxophone (James Island Charter High School)
Alex Jones – Alto Saxophone (Charleston SOA)
Cameron Jones – Alto Saxophone (Charleston SOA)
Eli Stacey – Alto Saxophone (Hanahan High School)
Michael Tucker – Tenor Saxophone (Cane Bay High School)
Manny Summers – Tenor Saxophone (Charleston SOA)
Gabriel Joda – Tenor Saxophone (Hanahan High School)
Jessica Bevins – Baritone Saxophone (Charleston SOA)
Charlie Cooper – Trumpet (Wando High School)
John Kerrigan – Trumpet (Cane Bay High School)
Jaedon Rush – Trumpet (Goose Creek High School)
Jacob Zenner – Trumpet (Goose Creek High School)
Liam Engelman – Trumpet (James Island Charter High School)
Ben Battelini – Trumpet (Stratford High School)
Logan Hall – Trombone (James Island Charter High School)
Julian Gioia – Trombone (Charleston SOA)
Gabe Goldman – Trombone (Charleston SOA)
T.J. Pitchford – Trombone (Stratford High School)
Olivia Walker – Trombone (Stratford High School)
Tucker Haddigan – Trombone (Wando High School)
Mikey Goossens – Bass Trombone (Stratford High School)
Aiden Johnson – Piano (Charleston SOA)
JT Ho-Mueller – Piano (Charleston SOA)
Lillian Sustaita – Bass (Charleston SOA)
Chase Bennett – Bass (Stratford High School)
Edward Smalls – Bass (Wando High School)
Aiden Roff – Drums (Charleston SOA)
Chris Barnwell – Drums (Charleston SOA)