Jazz Ensembles

The jazz program at Penn High School consists of two big band classes (Advanced Jazz Ensemble & Intermediate Jazz Ensemble), a small combo class (Kaleidoscope Jazz Combo), and an extracurricular jazz orchestra (After-School Jazz Orchestra). Penn’s Advanced Jazz Ensemble has won top honors at the Jazz in the Meadows Festival in Chicago, IL; the North Side Jazz Festival in Fort Wayne, IN; and the Bethel University Festival of Jazz in Mishawaka, IN. The band has performed at the Indiana Music Education Association Conference and the Swing Central Jazz Festival in Savannah, GA. In 2019, 2020, and 2023, the Penn Advanced Jazz Ensemble qualified for ISSMA State Jazz Finals. Recent guest artists and clinicians include John Raymond, Christopher Madsen, Mark Buselli, Sean Imboden, Richard Dole, Jim Catalano, Carl Coan, Fred Powell, Matt Pivec, and Dana Hall.