NSU hosts annual jazz festival
Vanner Erikson
Issue date: 3/17/10 Section: Life
There was jazz music to be heard and fun to be had on March 13 at the LAJE State Jazz Festival at Northwestern State University.
NSU and the School of Creative and Performing Arts hosted the LAJE Jazz Festival in Magale Recital Hall on Saturday.
The festival happens annually and it's a time where high schools and middle schools from Louisiana and surrounding states compete against one another in hopes of winning the competition and being the best school there.
The festival committee even brought in Rob Wilkerson, a special guest jazz saxophonist who has a diverse discography that includes both his own work and recording projects of fellow Brooklyn jazz artists.
He played in the music program after the schools competed against one another.
After an intense five hour competition, Fontainebleau High School was named the winner in the high school division, with Mandeville High School coming in second and Abbeville High School coming in third.
Section awards were also given out to each best instrumental group.
Fontainebleau High School won in three of the four categories of Best Saxophone, Trombone and Rhythm Sections, and Mandeville High School won Best Trumpet Section.
After the awards were given out to the winners, the audience and contestants were treated to a program consisting of some older jazz ensembles played by veterans of the music trade, including some assistant professors here at NSU.
The program ended with the finale of a sax section and special guests Rob Wilkerson, Paul Forsyth, Malena McLaren, Bob Maynard and Brian Rhodes.
They all played together, backed by the University Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Galindo Rodriguez.
"The program was breathtaking," said Alyson Breaux, a junior education major.
"It was my first time really listening to jazz music, but I loved every second of it, especially watching the students compete in the competition because their love and passion for the music really came out during their performances," she said.
After the program was over, the students left and the audience members shuffled out, but one thing was for certain, jazz is still alive today.
NSU and the School of Creative and Performing Arts hosted the LAJE Jazz Festival in Magale Recital Hall on Saturday.
The festival happens annually and it's a time where high schools and middle schools from Louisiana and surrounding states compete against one another in hopes of winning the competition and being the best school there.
The festival committee even brought in Rob Wilkerson, a special guest jazz saxophonist who has a diverse discography that includes both his own work and recording projects of fellow Brooklyn jazz artists.
He played in the music program after the schools competed against one another.
After an intense five hour competition, Fontainebleau High School was named the winner in the high school division, with Mandeville High School coming in second and Abbeville High School coming in third.
Section awards were also given out to each best instrumental group.
Fontainebleau High School won in three of the four categories of Best Saxophone, Trombone and Rhythm Sections, and Mandeville High School won Best Trumpet Section.
After the awards were given out to the winners, the audience and contestants were treated to a program consisting of some older jazz ensembles played by veterans of the music trade, including some assistant professors here at NSU.
The program ended with the finale of a sax section and special guests Rob Wilkerson, Paul Forsyth, Malena McLaren, Bob Maynard and Brian Rhodes.
They all played together, backed by the University Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Galindo Rodriguez.
"The program was breathtaking," said Alyson Breaux, a junior education major.
"It was my first time really listening to jazz music, but I loved every second of it, especially watching the students compete in the competition because their love and passion for the music really came out during their performances," she said.
After the program was over, the students left and the audience members shuffled out, but one thing was for certain, jazz is still alive today.
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