Swing and Jazz Preservation Society Hosts Student Battle of Bands in Palm Beach County

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BATTLE OF THE BANDS IN FULL SWING

Palm Beach County High and Middle Schools Compete For High Stakes

The Swing and Jazz Preservation Society in cooperation with District 14 of the Florida Bandmasters Association is sponsoring its first “School Band Spectacular,” a “Battle of the Bands”, open to all public middle and high schools across Palm Beach County.  The first round will be February 1 and 2, at Wellington High School, with round two taking place on February 24, at Olympic Heights High School and the grand prize winner competition is March 30, at the Spanish River Auditorium. All performances are free and open to the public.

The rules, developed by a committee of District 14 band directors, are as follows: Just for entering the contest each school music program gets a $700 donation for a jazz band entry and $500 for a jazz combo entry. Those who become semi-finalists get another $300.  All of the top four finalists get an additional $1,000 with the two top winning schools receiving an additional $500 each, for a possible maximum grand a total of $2,500 to $3,000.

“We are delighted to sponsor this new event and give money to public school jazz music programs,” explains Rene Zerah, President of the all volunteer board of the Swing and Jazz Preservation Society. “We want to keep the great sound of this music alive through young student musicians for many generations.”

From as far north as Jupiter and all the way down to Boca Raton, there are 16 participating middle and high schools with 21 bands, as some schools have two.  The high schools are:  Alexander Dreyfoos Jr. School of Arts, Atlantic Community HS, Boca Raton HS, John I Leonard HS, Jupiter HS, Olympic Heights HS, Palm Beach Central HS, Park Vista HS, Spanish River HS, Wellington HS and William T. Dwyer HS. Middle schools are: BAK School of Performing Arts, Christa McAuliffe MS, Don Estridge High Tech, Omni MS and Wellington Landings MS.

“We are thrilled that the Swing & Jazz Preservation Society asked the schools of Palm Beach County to participate in this contest and grateful for their generosity,” says Mike Fraley, former District 14 Bandmasters Association Chair,   “We are looking forward to outstanding Battles of the Bands and hope the public comes out to hear exceptional student performances.”

The mission of the Florida Bandmasters Association is to promote and support band programs in the state of Florida by providing opportunities for in-service growth, program evaluation, and student performance. As its guiding principle, the Association further believes that music holds a unique place in human existence and touches our lives in ways that no other experience can.  For more information go to: www.flmusiced.org/fba   

The Swing and Jazz Preservation Society is a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit corporation producing six concerts a year from November through April at the Spanish River Performing Arts Center, 2400 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, 33431, with the finest available music upholding the tradition of American jazz and swing. To insure the continuation of this tradition, for the past twelve years SJPS has supported the swing and jazz music programs in Palm Beach County public schools through donations of new instruments and money to help purchase sheet music, repair instruments, etc.

For further information contact Mort Mazor at 561-496-1733 or email at mmazor1@hotmail.com, www.swingandjazzpreservationsociety.org or Mikki Royce, Media Goddess Worldwide, 561 829-3222 or email at themediagoddess@pobox.com.

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