Bands win honors at Northwest Jazz Festival

Jazz bands from Sisters High School and Sisters Middle School won first place honors at the 27th annual Northwest Jazz Festival held May 7 at Mt. Hood Community College.

The event included more than 80 school bands from Oregon and Washington, including many Portland and Seattle bands. There were three bands from Sisters: the Varsity and Junior Varsity Jazz Bands from the high school and a Sisters Middle School Duo.

Each of the three groups performed to a panel of adjudicators pleased to hear the Sisters students performing in their debut appearance.“A notable compliment directed to each of our groups was how authentic they sounded in performing different styles of jazz,” said band director Jody Henderson.

“This was a recurring point in the comments each judging panel provided the Sisters bands, something the students and I are very proud of.”

The Sisters High Varsity Jazz Band won first place in the small high school division, ahead of a band from the Portland Arts and Communication Magnet Academy.

The Sisters Middle School Duo competed in a division at the festival that included all participating middle schools, regardless of student population. Sisters was awarded first place over Washington and Eckstein Middle Schools from Seattle, scoring 96 of 100 points from each judge.

A highlight for all the Sisters students was attending a concert that featured the famous United States Air Force “Airmen of Note.”