Savannah Music Festival | March 22-April 7, 2012

Swing Central High School Jazz Band
Competition & Workshop
March 30-April 1, 2011

Savannah Music Festival promotes the growth of jazz music by providing students with access to world-class jazz educators and professional musicians through an annual program called Swing Central. From March 30-April 1, the second weekend of the 2011 Savannah Music Festival, Swing Central provides more than 240 students from 12 high schools across the United States with opportunities to receive instruction from, directly interact with, and publicly perform amongst some of the nation's finest jazz educators and professionals. Swing Central clinicians include Marcus Roberts, Wycliffe Gordon, John Clayton, and a dozen other world-class educators.

In-School Workshop
Swing Central begins with a free in-school workshop held in February, during which time select clinicians travel to visit the participating high schools. In these workshops, clinicians work with the young musicians on improving sound/intonation, rhythmic precision/articulation, jazz conception, and soloing techniques.

Three-Day Workshop and Competition
From March 30 through April 1, the twelve participating high schools travel to historic Savannah for the Swing Central competition and workshop. The bands work one-on-one with a panel of clinicians comprised of established jazz educators and renowned jazz professionals, led by SMF's Associate Artistic Director of Jazz Education, Marcus Roberts. For three days, the students participate in instrumental breakout sessions, performance clinics, jam sessions, and an improvisation clinic. The Swing Central competition is also held at this time, during which the jazz bands perform their renditions of the jazz masterworks they received in the fall. The winning bands receive prize money to support their jazz programs. First place winners receive $5,000, second place $2,500, and third place $1,000. Each remaining finalist receives a $500 stipend.

2011 Participants

In 2011, the nationally recognized SWING CENTRAL JAZZ program features the following bands going head- to-head for $13,000 in cash awards:

• Agoura High Studio Jazz, Agoura Hills, CA (*Third Place, 2010)
• Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA
• Calabasas High School, Calabasas, CA
• Champaign Central High School Jazz Ensemble, Champaign, IL
• Denton High School Lab Band I, Denton, TX
• Dillard Center for the Arts, Ft. Lauderdale, FL (*First Place, 2010)
• Hoover First Edition, Hoover, AL
• The Lovett Jazz Ensemble, Atlanta, GA
• Newport High School Jazz Ensemble I, Bellevue, WA
• The Tift County High School "Blues Devils", Tifton, GA
• Roosevelt High School II, Seattle, WA
• Tate High School Symphonic Jazz Band, Cantonment, FL

Clinicians

Piano

Marcus Roberts, Associate Artistic Director of Jazz Studies
Bill Peterson
Gerald Clayton
Kevin Bales

Trumpets

Jim Ketch, Judge/Associate Director of Swing Central
Marcus Printup
Terell Stafford

Saxophone

Jeff clayton
Bill Kennedy
Jack Willkins, Judge

Trombones

Wycliffe Gordon
Ron Westray
Paul McKee

Guitar

Dave Stryker

Drums

Jason Marsalis
Leon Anderson, Judge

Bass

John Clayton
Rodney Whitaker, Judge
Rodney Jordan

Special Guest

Performance Opportunities
During their time in Savannah, Swing Central participants have several public performance opportunities aimed at strengthening the community's awareness of jazz music and accentuating the need of support for music education. Performance opportunities include: 1. The Swing Central competition, free and open to the public, held at the Lucas Theater; 2. The top three bands perform on stage with jazz professionals during the Swing Central Finale, also held at the Lucas Theatre; 3. The Swing Central Showcase, where each of the twelve bands plays a thirty-minute set in downtown Savannah. 

Visit Swing Central Jazz website

http://www.swingcentraljazz.org