High school students selected nationwide to participate in GRAMMY Foundation program
GRAMMY.com
The GRAMMY Foundation announced today that 30 talented high school students from across the United States have been selected for positions in the 2009 GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles. Their selection launches them into the spotlight surrounding the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards, and will provide them with unparalleled opportunities to perform in front of some of music's biggest names.
The students, representing 23 cities and 13 states, will travel to Los Angeles for a weeklong musical adventure under the direction of Justin DiCioccio of the Manhattan School of Music and Dr. Ron McCurdy of the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.
The Ensembles will perform at various GRAMMY Week events including public performances at Spaghettini Italian Grill & Jazz Club in Seal Beach, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2009, and the Vic in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb. 4. For the first time ever, the Ensembles will perform at the MusiCares Person of the Year tribute on Feb. 6, which this year will honor Neil Diamond. As a grand finale, they will attend the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 8 and will perform at the GRAMMY Celebration After-Party.
"The GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles program is unique in that it brings together exceptionally talented vocalists and instrumentalists from high schools across the country to form a jazz choir, combo and band," said GRAMMY Foundation and Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow. "These young people come to Los Angeles to play with their peers and GRAMMY-nominated and GRAMMY-winning artists at a range of GRAMMY Week events. Many say it is one of the most powerful and influential opportunities ever and truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
The program was launched in 1993 by the GRAMMY Foundation. GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles selectees are eligible for more than $2 million in college scholarships made possible through the GRAMMY Foundation's college partners: Berklee College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and USC Thornton School of Music. In addition, every GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles program applicant and their high school will receive music product from MakeMusic Inc., including a 90-day subscription to SmartMusic, the company's complete music practice system. Additionally, each selectee's school will receive a professional cymbal courtesy of the Zildjian Company.
The students selected to the 2009 GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles are:
2009 GRAMMY Jazz Choir
Andre Brown (tenor), Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh CAPA High School
Taylor Daniel (tenor), Germantown, Tenn., Germantown High School
Olivia Harris (soprano), Dallas, Booker T. Washington HSPVA
Jazzmeia Horn (alto), Dallas, Booker T. Washington HSPVA
Amanda Kunz (alto), Renton, Wash., homeschooled
Ben Lusher (bass), Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., the Masters School
Michael Mayo (bass), Van Nuys, Calif., Los Angeles County High School for the Arts
McKenna Whisler (soprano), Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh CAPA High School
2009 GRAMMY Jazz Combo
Kate Davis (bass), West Linn, Ore., West Linn High School
Armand Hirsch (guitar), New York, Trevor Day School
Noah Kellman (piano), Fayetteville, N.Y., Manlius Pebble Hill High School
Alex Nash (drums), San Francisco, San Francisco School of the Arts
2009 GRAMMY Jazz Band
William Aukstik (trumpet), Lombard, Ill., Benet Academy
Benny Benack (trumpet), Pittsburgh, Upper St. Clair High School
Luke Celenza (piano), Bedford, N.Y., Fox Lane High School
Braxton Cook (alto sax), Silver Spring, Md., Springbrook High School
Natalie Cressman (trombone), San Francisco, San Francisco School of the Arts
Sam Crowe (tenor sax 1), Denver, Denver School of the Arts
Nick Frenay (trumpet), Syracuse, N.Y., Manlius Pebble Hill High School
Joshua Gawel (trumpet), Douglassville, Pa., Daniel Boone Area High School
Tyler Ginsberg (trombone 2), Metairie, La., New Orleans Center for Creative Arts
Alden Harris-McCoy (guitar), Portland, Ore., Lincoln High School
Josh Holcomb (trombone 1), Woodhaven, N.Y., Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Aaron Johnson (alto sax), Portland, Ore., homeschooled
Matt Knoegel(tenor sax 2), Southington, Conn., Southington High School
Ethan Kogan (drums), Wilmette, Ill., New Trier Township High School
Jacob Kraft (bass trombone), Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Los Osos High School
Raviv Markowitz (bass), Lexington, Mass., Lexington High School
Leonardo Pellegrino (baritone sax), Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh CAPA High School
Ivan Rosenberg (trumpet), New York, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts