HOULTON, Maine — The RSU 29 Music Department and Houlton Music Boosters held the 2013 Maine State High School Instrumental Jazz Festival this past weekend at Houlton High School.
Sixty-two ensembles, made up of 781 musicians competed for 80 individual and group awards. Ten different adjudicators were involved in the process of evaluating high school jazz combos and jazz bands.
In this weekend’s competition, Houlton captured top honors in the Division IV Jazz Band category. Individual Outstanding Musicianship Awards, placement trophies and Gold plaques for superior ratings were awarded to various students and ensembles by Maine Music Educator Jazz Vice President Kris Vigue.
For the first time in the history of Maine jazz competitions, the entire two-day event was streamed live on whoufm.com. All competition videos are now archived and posted on whoufm.com.
Fred Grant, owner of Northern Maine Media Inc., WHOU FM Radio, reported that there were 9,370 viewers, 25 states and 15 countries tuned in over the two days of festival competition.
“It was great to see such positive comments posted online regarding streaming this event,” said Grant. “Many grandparents, relatives and friends from all over the United States were able to see the festival, some for the very first time. It was a wonderful way to show the world what is happening for jazz education in the state.”
Houlton High School will also be the site of next year’s High School State Instrumental Jazz Festival held March 14-15, 2014.
The following is a list of all award winners:
Division I Combos — Outstanding Musicianship Awards went to Elyse Oliver, alto sax, Biddeford; Chuck Key, trombone, South Portland; Alex Quinn, trumpet, South Portland; Alex Han, piano, Falmouth; Katie Osman, drums, Nokomis. Gold Awards: Falmouth and South Portland Combo 1.
Placement Awards went to 1, South Portland High School Combo 1; 2, Falmouth High School Combo; and 3, Nokomis Regional High School “Abyssinian” Combo.
Division II Combos — Outstanding Musicianship Awards went to Jacob Caron, piano, Brewer Black Combo; Andrew Corea, alto, Westbrook; Gary Sanville, tenor, Westbrook; Alex Ouellette, drums, Fryeburg; and Riley Marquis, flute, Old Town.
Gold Awards went to Brewer “Black”, Fryeburg Academy “New Standard”, Old Town Combo 1 and Westbrook Combo 1. Placement Awards for this division went to 1, Westbrook High School Combo 1; 2, Fryeburg Academy “New Standard” Combo; and 3, Brewer High School “Black” Combo.
Division III Combos — Outstanding Musicianship Awards in this division went to Dave Kelly, drums, Bucksport; David Reinke, piano, George Stevens Academy; Walter Heuter, piano, Maine Central Institute; James Strombas, drums, Old Orchard Beach; and Max Rowe, guitar, Waynflete.
Gold Awards went to Bucksport, George Stevens Academy “Lucy and the Diamonds”, Houlton, Maine Central Institute “Yield”, Old Orchard Beach and Waynflete. Placement Awards went to 1, George Stevens Academy “Lucy & the Diamonds”; 2, Maine Central Institute “Yield”; and 3, Bucksport High School.
Multi Jazz Band — Outstanding Musicianship Awards went to A.J. Worcester, alto sax, Fryeburg Academy; Nick Deffenbacher-Krall, clarinet, Old Town; Sara Packard, piano, Nokomis; Emery O’Connell, bass, Fryeburg Academy; and Peter Hilliard, drums, Brewer.
Gold Awards went to Fryeburg Academy, South Portland and Westbrook. Placement Awards went to 1, Fryeburg Academy; 2, Westbrook High School; and 3, South Portland High School.
“A” Multi Combo Division — Outstanding Musicianship Awards went to John Burke, piano, Fryeburg Academy; Taylor Knowles, trumpet, South Portland; A.J. Worcester, saxophone, Fryeburg Academy; Jacob Violette, saxophone, Westbrook; and Nick Pelletier, drums, Brewer.
Gold Awards went to Fryeburg Academy “Seven Steps,” and Westbrook Combo 2. Placement Awards went to 1, Westbrook High School Combo 2; 2, Fryeburg Academy “Seven Steps”; and 3, South Portland High School Combo 2.
“B” Multi Combo Division — Outstanding Musicianship Award went to Alice Dillon, piano, George Stevens Academy “Riff Raff”; Clover Slagel, vocals, George Stevens Academy “Tate’s Tots”; Tate Yoder, trombone, George Stevens Academy “Tate’s Tots”; So Young Im, flute, George Stevens Academy “Riff Raff”; and John Kenneway, trumpet/flugel horn, Old Town Combo 3.
Placement Awards went to 1, Old Town High School Combo 3; 2, Fryeburg Academy “Milestones”; and 3, George Stevens Academy “Riff Raff.”
Division I Jazz Band — Outstanding Musicianship Awards went to Alex Han, piano, Falmouth; Alex Quinn, trumpet, South Portland; Chuck Key, trombone, South Portland; Matt Estabrook, tenor sax, Falmouth; and Keenan Blier, bass, Noble.
Gold Award were presented to Biddeford, Falmouth, Noble and South Portland. Placement Awards went to 1, South Portland High School; 2, Noble High School; and 3, Biddeford High School.
Division II Jazz Band — Outstanding Musicianship Awards went to Nick Turner, trumpet, Brewer; Gary Sanville, alto sax, Westbrook; Alex Ouellette, drums, Fryeburg Academy; Jacob Michaud, drums, Hampden Academy; and Lindsay Mower, alto, Nokomis.
Gold Awards were given to Brewer, Greely, Fryeburg Academy, Hampden Academy, Nokomis and Westbrook. Placement Awards went to 1, Fryeburg Academy; 2, Westbrook High School; and 3, Nokomis Regional High School.
Division III Jazz Band — Outstanding Musicianship Awards were given to Kyle Goupille, trumpet, Presque Isle; Sarah Farfield, trumpet, York; Matt Dunning, alto saxophone, John Bapst; Riley Marquis, flute, Old Town; and trombone section, John Bapst.
Gold Awards were presented to John Bapst, Mount Desert Island, Old Town, Presque Isle and York. Placement Awards went to 1, John Bapst Memorial High School; 2, Old Town High School; 3, York High School.
Division IV Jazz Band — Outstanding Musicianship Awards went to Peter Howell, trombone, George Stevens Academy; James Stombus, drums, Old Orchard Beach; Holli Haseltine, flugelhorn, Mattanawcook Academy; Earth Vorachattarn, drums/guitar, Maine Central Institute; and Lucy Jacob, vibes, George Stevens Academy.
Gold Awards were given to George Stevens Academy, Houlton and Maine Central Institute. Placement Awards were 1, Houlton High School; 2, Maine Central Institute; and 3, George Stevens Academy.
