Berklee High School Jazz Festival to Host 3,000 Musicians

On March 2, Berklee will host the 45th annual High School Jazz Festival, the largest high school jazz competition in the United States. More than 200 bands and vocal ensembles featuring 3,000 students will compete for $175,000 in scholarships to Berklee's Five-Week Summer Performance Program.

Allen Bush and Liz Lupton

February 19, 2013

Students perform at the 2012 High School Jazz Festival.

Phil Farnsworth

The largest high school jazz competition in the U.S.—Berklee College of Music's 45th High School Jazz Festival—will host more than 200 bands and vocal ensembles featuring 3,000 students from 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico competing for $175,000 in scholarships to Berklee's Five-Week Summer Performance Program. Participants will also enjoy clinics and concerts by award-winning singer-songwriter and trombonist Aubrey Logan, whose jazz, neo-soul, and pop sound defines the new generation of contemporary musicians, and the Metta Quintet, featuring some of today’s brightest jazz artists including Berklee alumni Lawrence Fields and Hans Schuman, and the resident ensemble of New York City-based jazz preservation initiative JazzReach.

The entire event is free and open to the public, and will take place on Saturday, March 2, 2013, at the Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston Street, 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Scholarship and award winners will be announced at 5:30 p.m., followed by a winners showcase concert at 7:30 p.m. Find the complete schedule at berkleejazz.org.

In addition to witnessing the performances by the top high school jazz bands in the country, audiences will have the chance to experience top Berklee students in the Berklee’s Tower of Power ensemble, the Berklee Rainbow Band, the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, and the Marine Corps All Star Band, led by berklee alumnus Chief Warrant Officer Stephen B. Giove.

Students will also be honored for outstanding achievements in jazz composition. Aditya Raguram is this year’s winner of the Herb Pomeroy Jazz Composition/Arranging Contest. The Princeton (New Jersey) High School student will hear his composition “Remember” performed by the Rainbow Band, and he’ll receive a full scholarship for the Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance Program.

Allen Bush is the Director of Media Relations and can be reached at abush@berklee.edu. Liz Lupton is a publicist in Berklee's Office of Media Relations and can be reached at llupton@berklee.edu.