Jazz at Lincoln Center: Miami after-school program just named Finalist!

Miami’s Community Arts Program (CAP) ALL-STAR Jazz Ensemble Jazz at Lincoln Center 2015 Essentially Ellington Finalist For Third Consecutive Year! Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center have announced the finalist bands for its prestigious 20th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival. With nearly 100 recordings submitted from jazz bands across the United States and Canada, Florida's Community Arts Program (CAP) ALL-STAR Jazz Ensemble is among only 15 finalists chosen.  The Community Arts Program, with its CAP ALL-STAR Jazz Ensemble, is one of only two after-school programs selected, and the only after-school jazz band chosen from throughout the competition's Region 4: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington D.C, and West Virginia. This will be the CAP ALL-STAR Jazz Ensemble's third consecutive year, as an Essentially Ellington finalist, to perform at Jazz at Lincoln Center.  The Community Arts Program (CAP) ALL-STAR Jazz Ensemble will compete and participate in workshops, jam sessions, and more, during the three-day Competition & Festival in New York City, May 7 through 9. The three top-placing bands perform with a Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member as soloist, followed by a performance by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra whose members, headed by Wynton Marsalis, serve as mentors for the finalist bands throughout the weekend. The Festival's finale is an awards ceremony honoring outstanding soloists, sections and the top three bands. The Competition & Festival is the culmination of the annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program (EE) from Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC), part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. A curriculum offering of the Community Arts Program (CAP) Miami Jazz Institute, the CAP ALL-STAR Jazz Ensemble is comprised of a diverse group of jazz musicians (ages 15-18) from schools throughout South Florida. Conducted by Daniel Strange, the CAP ALL-STAR Jazz Ensemble experience is designed to sharpen sight reading, style, technique, improv, rhythm, recording studio skill, college prep and career development through the practical study and performance of jazz repertoire that spans the standards to newly-composed works. Mark Hart, CAP Executive & Artistic Director, remarks: "I am so proud of all our students, parents, staff, and supporters who provide the enthusiasm and springboard that build truly successful after-school programs."  CAP ALL-STAR Jazz Ensemble highlights include, in addition to my performances throughout Miami, annual one-hour live radio shows on Miami's "serious jazz" station WDNA 88.9FM, opening for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (twice), Count Basie Orchestra, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and jazz vocalist Catherine Russell, and two performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center as part it’s Essentially Ellington festival. Under the Community Arts Program's record label, CAP Records®, the ALL-STAR Jazz Ensemble released the recording, With a Swing! The entire Community Arts Program (CAP) experience offers Saturday Music Classes with instrument and music theory instruction for youth (ages 5-18). These classes are in addition to CAP’s "active-learning" ensembles that, with the CAP ALL-STAR Jazz Ensemble, include the CAP Young Musicians’ String PREP Consort, String Consort, Chamber Ensemble, and—as also part of the CAP Miami Jazz Institute—the CAP Jazz PREP Band. An additional CAP active-learning component is CAP Records®. The CAP Records® label provides a platform for CAP students' recording projects. The Community Arts Program also presents its renowned Summer Concert Series, begun in 1985, which brings world-renowned classical and jazz artists to South Florida. Summer Concert Series artists remain a day and provide the CAP Young Musicians' Summer Master Classes to Community Arts Program students and the community at large. With all its endeavors, the Community Arts Program maintains its mission: To serve a diverse community by providing educational and culturally-enriching experiences through the transforming power of the arts. The Community Arts Program (CAP) is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its Knight Arts Challenge; the Children’s Trust; The Tweed Charitable Foundation; the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs; the City of Coral Gables, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; and through the kind generosity of private donors. More at www.CommunityArtsProgram.org.