Jazz Outreach Initiative and UNLV School of Music, Division of Jazz & Commercial Music present the 5th Annual Las Vegas Regional Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Festival Final Concert! The final Saturday evening concert will feature the all-star Essentially Ellington Sextet with world renowned jazz artists and this year’s adjudicators and clinicians, Kenny Rampton (Trumpet), Victor Goines (Tenor Saxophone), Curt Miller (Trombone), Sherrie Maricle (Drums), John Belzaguy (Bass), and Helen Sung (Piano). Following an awards presentation for outstanding student soloists and sections, the award-winning UNLV Jazz Ensemble 1 will perform under the direction of Dave Loeb and Nathan Tanouye, including featured select student soloists from some of the 20 participating high school big bands from across the western United States.

Licensed by Jazz at Lincoln Center, this two-day festival is the largest and most prestigious of the 18 regionals featuring award-winning high school big bands from across the western United States. In addition to the Competition & Festival in New York City each May, Essentially Ellington co-produces regional non-competitive, education-focused festivals designed to offer high school jazz bands of all levels the opportunity to perform the music of Duke Ellington and other seminal big band composers and arrangers at various locations across the country. Participating bands receive professional feedback from JALC clinicians and other jazz professionals in their own backyard.

Your ticket may also be used to access the two-day festival itself to watch all of the amazing high school big bands on Friday, February 16 from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. and Saturday, February 17 from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (also in the Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall). The full two-day performance schedule will be posted on the Jazz Outreach Initiative events website at www.jazzoutreachinitiative.org.