913A 2:00 Jazz Band H

Gr 9 - 12 | 3 Credits | Year-Long | 3x per Cycle

 *PREREQUISITE: Audition and interview as well as membership in Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Sinfonia (bass players), Chamber Orchestra (bass players), or Chorus (guitar and piano players). Private lessons are strongly recommended. 

This advanced jazz big band has fixed instrumentation limited to alto, tenor, and baritone saxes, trumpets, trombones, guitar, piano, bass, and drum set. Membership is established by audition. Other instrumentalists (clarinets, flutes) may be called in as needed (e.g., for tunes prepared for the annual Essentially Ellington NYC festival). 2:00 Jazz Band is designed to provide students with playing experience in various jazz styles. Some introduction to the skill of improvisation will be provided in rehearsals, but students are expected to study this skill further in private lessons and/or in 1:00 Jazz Band 9 (course 912A). 

Performances will include school concerts, community events, and adjudicated festivals. Students in this class are required to perform in a major WHS ensemble including Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Sinfonia (bass players), Chamber Orchestra (bass players), and Chorus (pianists and guitarists). It is strongly recommended that they take private lessons on their instruments. This is an honors level course that will count in the computation of your Grade Point Average. 

Essential Skills

The Wellesley Public Schools Performing Arts Program offers a comprehensive program of experiences for all students. Courses offered through the Performing Arts are grounded in the Massachusetts State Arts Framework Essential Skills and Standards; Creating, Performing, Responding, and Connecting. 

Jazz Band Essential Skills:

Creating:      

• Students will generate instrumental interpretations that integrate jazz aesthetic principles with personal style.

Performing:  

• Students will perform with accuracy and expression tunes from the jazz instrumental repertoire at a MAJE level 2-3 (scale of 1-6).

Responding:

• Students will analyze the ways that one’s own culture and privilege can affect the criteria one uses to evaluate musical performance.

Connecting: 

• Students will explain the development of the group’s aesthetic vision as an ensemble and how it is represented in our performance.