DGN student musicians garnered multiple group and individual awards/honors at the 2014 Purdue Jazz Festival this weekend.
Both the DGN Jazz Ensemble, and the DGN Jazz Lab Band, won 1st Place "Honor Band" awards in their respective competition venues. Having two bands from the same school selected as Honor Bands - in the same year - is a 'first' for DGN, and a rare occurrence for any school at this festival. All three performing ensembles from North High (Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Lab Band, and Jazz Combo) received "Division I" distinction as well.
Twenty individual students were richly rewarded with twenty-four Outstanding Solo & Musicianship Awards (list following), and
Spencer Schillerstrom received two separate solo award distinctions of special significance:
North Ballroom Outstanding Soloist of the Day (which included a Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp Scholarship prize) as well as being one of two instrumental soloists from the Jazz Combo competition to receive a scholarship to the prestigious Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop.
The Purdue Jazz Festival, now in it's 24th year, is widely recognized as the most prestigious festival of it's kind in the Midwest drawing bands from a five-state region. 94 bands, and over 2,200 students had the opportunity to perform for a distinguished pannel of nearly thirty adjudicators, all of whom are considered the most widely respected performers and teachers of jazz in the nation.
Awards Recap
Ensemble Awards:
- DGN Jazz Ensemble - 1st Place Honor Band (High School 1st Bands) & Division 1 Rating
- DGN Jazz Lab Band - 1st Place Honor Band (High School 2nd Bands), Division 1 Ratiner, and "Judges Award".
- DGN Jazz Combo - Division 1 Rating
Individual Awards:
- Spencer Schillerstrom - North Ballroom Outstanding Soloist of the Day
- Spencer Schillerstrom - Jazz Combo - Jamey Aebersold Scholarship Award
Outstanding Solo & Musicianship Awards:
- Michael Brooks - Drums
- Sebastian Calvino - Trombone (2 awards)
- Alexa Castelvecchi - Vocal
- Evan Culligan - Tenor Saxophone
- Darius Daugvila - Piano
- Kathleen Donnelly - Alto Saxophone
- Zack Foster - Bass (3 awards)
- Samuel Heppner - Trumpet
- Justine Hung - Piano
- Max King - Guitar
- Eirene Kowal - Piano
- Rob Kulik - Drums
- Zach McCoy -Drums
- John McGarry - Trombone
- Joe Pacheco - Trumpet
- Clayton Possidoni - Drums
- Nathaniel Rapach - Trumpet
- Spencer Schillerstrom - Tenor & Alto Saxophone (2 awards)
- Grant Severt - Guitar
- Amelia Smerz - Cello
