Sisters jazz bands perform well at Reno Jazz Festival

Four bands from Sisters High School and Sisters Middle School made a strong impression at the 44th annual Reno Jazz Festival held the last weekend in April. The Reno festival is held in 10 performance venues on the campus of the University of Nevada, featuring over 350 bands and employing over 45 of some of the finest jazz instructors in the country.

Three of the four bands placed in the top five of their respective divisions.

The Sisters Middle School Quintet was ranked fifth out of nine bands in an open middle school division, comprised mostly of schools from large cities. The Sisters High School Quintet earned fourth in their division which included 17 other bands from schools with less than 1,000 students, including several private schools that focus on music.

The 18-member Sisters High School Varsity Band earned scores from an entire judging panel of 90 and higher, a mark awarded to only about 10 percent of the 350 bands attending the event. This honor earned them second place out of 15 bands in a small school band division, including private schools with special emphasis.

Each year the Varsity group has performed in Reno they have received top-five recognition.

The 16-member Junior Varsity Jazz Band also gave an excellent performance in the same small school band division. The JV group received scores all in the seventies, marks which six years ago the Varsity Band earned on the school’s first trip to the festival.

Many Sisters students also received individual awards for outstanding performance on their instrument. From the middle school: Austin Malone — trumpet, Levi Rodriguez — trombone, Blake Henderson — vibraphone, Trevor Ford — bass, Tanner Smith — drums. And from the high school: Justin Veloso — drums, Benji Nagel — guitar, Shalena Edmunson — saxophone and flute, Tyson Edmunson — trumpet, Jared Henderson — bass and sousaphone, Nick Anthony — guitar.

A highlight of the Reno festival is attending performances given by top college and university jazz studies programs. When not performing, Sisters students were taking in performances by CSU Northridge, CSU Fullerton, CSU Sacramento, The University of Oregon, Fresno City College, and Cuesta College.

This year the Reno Festival also featured a performance by one of the finest professional jazz organizations in history, the Maria Schneider Orchestra. Maria Schneider is considered to be one of the best and most original composers in modern music. The roster of the group is filled with players who have had standout careers as performers and leaders of their own groups. Recordings by her band have received worldwide acclaim, and are regularly nominated for Grammy Awards.