Historic selection High School Jazz Bands to compete in New York City this May
New York, NY – Today, Jazz at Lincoln Center announced the top high school jazz bands selected to compete in the 30th annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival on May 7-11, 2025, at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Jazz at Lincoln Center is located at Broadway at 60th St., New York, NY.
In honor of the milestone anniversary, the organization also announced plans to expand the unique high school arts education program which has impacted thousands of students, band directors, and the worldwide Essentially Ellington community throughout its 30 year history.
Double the talent!
For the first time, Jazz at Lincoln Center has doubled the number of bands, from 15 to 30, selected to compete in the finals. A three day competition in years past, the 2025 Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival will take place over five days, which will include two rounds of competition taking place on two stages, Rose Theater and the Appel Room. The final concert and awards ceremony will be held on May 11 at the Metropolitan Opera House, located at 30 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY.
“In the first years of Essentially Ellington, we at Jazz at Lincoln Center were insisting on the integrity of the playing,” said Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center Managing and Artistic Director. “Since then, so many great musicians have come through the program, and many of them have had a profound impact on the scene. I’ve also been impacted by the students and the interactions I’ve had with them over these 30 years.” He continued, “The fact that hundreds of thousands-perhaps even millions-of young people around the world have played Duke Ellington’s music, and his music has been distributed so widely through this program, is a tremendous source of joy for me. I truly feel that Jazz at Lincoln Center has contributed something of real value to the world. The music of Duke Ellington is certainly the highest level of what has come out of the United States of America.”
“I’ve watched this program expand and evolve over the years and am deeply proud of how Essentially Ellington has changed the landscape of jazz education,” said Todd Stoll, Jazz at Lincoln Center Vice President of Education. “In a culture always looking ahead to the next best thing, we celebrate the music of Duke Ellington and how it speaks across generations and barriers to bring us together in a way that is both profound and relevant. Congratulations to the directors, parents, and communities that support these students in their efforts to master this music.”
The 2025 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Finalists are:
Rio Americano High School (Sacramento, California)
Directed by Josh Murray
- William H. Hall High School (West Hartford, Connecticut) Directed by Phil Giampietro
- Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (Wheaton, Illinois) Directed by Robert Blazek
- Bothell High School (Bothell, Washington) Directed by Philip Dean
- Byron Center High School (Byron Center, Michigan) Directed by Marc Townley
- Carroll Senior High School (Southlake, Texas) Directed by David Lown
- Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts (West Palm Beach, Florida) Directed by Christopher M. De León
- King Philip Regional High School (Wrentham, Massachusetts) Directed by Michael Keough
- Agoura High School (Agoura Hills, California) Directed by Robert Hackett
- Jazz House Kids (Montclair, New Jersey) Directed by Nathan Eklund
- Osceola County School for the Arts (Kissimmee, Florida) Directed by Jason Anderson
- Sun Prairie High School (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin) Directed by Matt McVeigh
- Susan E. Wagner High School (Staten Island, New York) Directed by Paul Corn
- Newton South High School (Newton, Massachusetts) Directed by Lisa Linde
- Memphis Central High School (Memphis, Tennessee) Directed by Ollie Liddell
- Plano West Senior High School (Plano, Texas) Directed by Preston Pierce
- Stanford Jazz Workshop (Stanford, California) Directed by Michael Galisatus
- Hoover High School (Hoover, Alabama) Directed by Sallie White
- New World School of the Arts (Miami, Florida) Directed by Jim Gasior
- Mountlake Terrace High School (Mountlake Terrace, Washington) Directed by Darin Faul
- Garfield High School (Seattle, Washington) Directed by Jared Sessink
- Newark Academy (Livingston, New Jersey) Directed by Julius Tolentino
- Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, Arizona) Directed by Brice Winston
- Roosevelt High School (Seattle, Washington) Directed by Hannah Mowry
- Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana, California) Directed by John Reynolds
- Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music (Bronx, New York) Directed by Penelope Smetters-Jacono
- Ann Arbor Huron High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan) Directed by Robert Ash
- Blackburn High School (Victoria, Australia) Directed by Andrew O’Connell
- Tomisato High School (Chiba, Japan) Directed by Masaki Shinohara
- Sant Andreu Jazz Band (Barcelona, Spain) Directed by Joan Chamorro
Selection process
These finalists were selected from 127 schools, a record number, that submitted recordings of select tunes from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s R. Theodore Ammon Archives and Music Library.
Recognizing Ethan Liao from San Francisco
In addition to highlighting the top high school jazz bands, the festival will recognize the winner of the 13th Annual Essentially Ellington Dr. J. Douglas White Student Composition and Arranging Contest. The 2025 winner is Ethan Liao from San Francisco University High School in San Francisco, CA. Liao will receive a $1,000 cash prize and the winning composition, entitled “By Candlelight,” will be recorded by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The prize also includes a trip to the 2025 Competition & Festival for a composition lesson with Grammy Award-winning artist Ted Nash.
Immersive experience
The annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival brings musicians from across North America to Jazz at Lincoln Center to spend several days immersed in workshops, jam sessions, rehearsals and performances. This year, for the first time ever, three international guest bands will join to compete on stage in Rose Theater.
The top-placing bands will be chosen by several judging panels comprising distinguished jazz musicians and historians, including Joseph Jefferson, Ingrid Jensen, Sherrie Maricle, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Ulysses Owens, Catherine Russell, Reggie Thomas, Camille Thurman, Liesel Whitaker, and others to be announced.
“To elevate”
One of the most innovative education events in the world, the Essentially Ellington program and resources for students and band directors are free of charge and aim to elevate musicianship, broaden perspectives, and inspire performance through the music of jazz icon Duke Ellington.
The program aims to promote appreciation for jazz music and American vernacular music and has served as a major talent incubator for many alumni who have gone on to form a new generation of professional musicians band directors, and industry figures including Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra musicians Obed Calvaire, Carlos Henriquez, Alexa Tarantino, GRAMMY Award winner Samara Joy, Saturday Night Live band member Summer Camargo, and renowned musicians Aaron Diehl, Tatum Greenblatt, Chris Lewis, Riley Mulherkar, Philip Norris, among many more.
Livestream!
Essentially Ellington Festival events, including the final concert featuring the top-placing bands and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, will stream live on jazzlive.com.
Tickets will be available for purchase in the coming months. For more information, visit jazz.org/ee.
Since 1987
Since its inception in 1987, Jazz at Lincoln Center has produced an extensive range of jazz educational and advocacy programs for all ages. For the 30th year, the organization’s Essentially Ellington program spreads the message of Duke Ellington’s music, leadership, and collective orientation, providing high school ensembles with free transcriptions of original Duke Ellington recordings – accompanied by rehearsal guides, original recordings, professional instruction, and more – to thousands of schools and community bands in 58 countries. More than 7,000 high school bands have benefitted from free charts and resources. The multi-day festival provides students access to workshops, jam sessions, rehearsals, and performances.
