In the first few weeks of November, the East Lansing bands started auditions for their jazz band placements.
Jazz band is an opportunity for any student that has music experience and would like to join a jazz-based ensemble. To join, students need to audition for band director, David Larzelere, who decides your placements.
There are two different jazz bands students can be placed in. Jazz I is the advanced jazz band, for more experienced students. Jazz II is the beginner jazz band for the students who are just starting in jazz and would like
to grow their skills. Scarlett Alfredson (11) has been in Jazz I since her freshman year, playing tenor saxophone.
“It’s my favorite thing about concert season,” Alfredson said. “Jazz is the best.”
Jazz I meets Mondays before school and Jazz II meets Tuesdays before school. On Wednesday nights, both bands come together and have a large group rehearsal.
Many students, like Jazz II trumpet player Wesley Draper (10), look forward to jazz season every year because of the connections they have in the ensemble.
“My favorite part of jazz band is my friends that [are in] it,” Draper said. “[I like] being able to hang out with them.”
Every year, the bands go to multiple jazz festivals and concerts. Their biggest event is in Hastings, MI where they perform small concerts at different venues in that area.
In the spring, there is also a jazz concert where the middle school jazz band, Jazz II and Jazz I all perform. There are sometimes guest performers who join the bands during this concert and sometimes at other venues as well. This is the
final performance for the year and is a core memory for the musicians.
At last year’s final concert, Alfredson remembers playing “Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love” by Charles Mingus, the stage lights shining and the feeling of accomplishment overwhelming her.
“My favorite memory was playing a piece that I loved in front of all of those people,” Alfredson said. “It felt like I wasn’t playing for anybody.”