File photo of Grammy Award winning artist and founder of the American Music Program, Thara Memory
By CHARLES J. GANSmay, 2015
The American Music Program of Portland, Oregon, has won Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington high school jazz band competition after an emotional performance honoring its ailing director.
Wynton Marsalis, JALC's Managing and Artistic Director, presented the band with the first-place trophy and a $5,000 award at Saturday night's finals concert at Frederick P. Rose Hall.
Last year's winner, the Tucson Jazz Institute, took second place, while Lexington High School from Massachusetts finished third.
Marsalis, who helped judge the competition, said he was impressed that the Portland band played one of Duke Ellington's most difficult pieces, "The Tattooed Bride," from memory.
The student musicians dedicated their performance to their director Thara Memory, Marsalis said.
Memory, who founded the American Music Program in 2005 as a regional jazz youth orchestra, has been in poor health in recent years due to complications from diabetes.
Photo: http://www.katu.com/news/local/American-Music-Program-Portland-Oregon-Thara-Memory-wins-Essentially-Ellington-competition-in-New-York-City-303226001.html
read more: http://news.yahoo.com/oregon-band-wins-essentially-ellington-competition-162814811.html
0 Comments:
Post a Comment