About the Jazz BandThe NEST+m Upper School Jazz Band first began performing in 2009 with 18 students, many of whom had no instrumental music experience. The ensemble has matured to be the premier performing group at NEST+m. Every student in Jazz Band auditions for their seat.
In June 2011, the Jazz Band attended their first NYSSMA Major Organization festival in NYU. They earned a Silver rating. In June 2012, the Jazz Band returned to earn their first Gold rating. Students in Jazz Band perform NYSSMA level IV and V music. They have performed outside Lincoln Center, at the Lehman College Jazz Festival, and at school concerts and assemblies. In 2013, for the first time, the Jazz Band submitted a recording for Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington competition. They recorded three challenging classic Duke Ellington charts. The Jazz Band, under the direction of NEST+m upper grades music teacher Craig McGorry, meets daily. They work on classic jazz repertoire from great jazz composers such as Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, and John Coltrane and also repertoire by contemporary composers and groups such as Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Jazz Band. |