Brand New High School Jazz Invitational Kicks off 45th Annual Elmhurst College Jazz Festival

Every February for the last four and a half decades, college jazz bands from around the world have flocked to the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival to perform for, and learn from, some of the greatest professional performers today. This year, for the first time, high school bands will get that chance too.

To celebrate the Jazz Festival’s 45th year, the Elmhurst College Music Department, in conjunction with a grant from the Sylvia and William W. Gretsch Memorial Foundation, will sponsor the first Elmhurst College High School Invitational Jazz Festival Thursday, Feb. 23.

The Invitational kicks off the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival, one of the longest-running college jazz festivals in the country. Five bands from schools around Illinois— Champaign Central High School, John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, St. Charles North High School, Wheeling High School and York High School in Elmhurst—will perform for each other, and then receive an on-stage clinic with a panel of guest adjudicators, the members of the Jeff Hamilton Trio. The event will conclude with a performance for the high school bands by the Jeff Hamilton Trio and the Elmhurst College Jazz Band.

Additional support for the Invitational has been provided by the Rotary Club of Elmhurst and an anonymous donor. The event begins at 12:30 p.m. at Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel, 190 Prospect Ave. General admission for the Invitational is $5.

On Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24 and 25, award-winning collegiate jazz ensembles from around the world will perform beginning at 11:30 a.m. The 7:30 p.m. session Friday will feature performances by college ensembles and will conclude with a performance by the Jeff Hamilton Trio, with the Elmhurst College Jazz Band.

Saturday’s evening session also will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will conclude with a feature performance by The University of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band, directed by Steve Wiest. The concert, a Tribute to Maynard Ferguson, will feature Frank Greene, Denis DiBlasio and Mark Colby.

The Sunday, Feb. 26, session begins at 11:30 a.m. and will conclude with a performance by The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.

The complete Jazz Festival schedule can be found here.

All performances will be held in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel. For additional information or to order tickets, contact the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival office at (630) 617-5534, or visit www.elmhurst.edu/jazzfestival.

The Elmhurst College Jazz Band, directed by Doug Beach, has received outstanding ratings at jazz festivals from many jazz greats, including Clark Terry, Lee Konitz, Conte Candoli, Pete Christlieb, Greg Hopkins, Jiggs Whigham, Rob McConnell and Bob Brookmeyer. The band has toured 22 nations and twice has been honored with invitations from the U.S. State Department to tour Europe.