The Southeast Polk High School Jazz Band, under the direction of Jayson Gerth, will be participating in class 4A at the 43rd Annual Iowa Jazz Championships on Thursday, April 5th, 2018 at Iowa State University in Ames, IA. Musco Lighting from Oskaloosa, Iowa sponsors the event in cooperation with Iowa Jazz Championships, Inc., Jazz Educators of Iowa, and the Iowa Music Educators Association.
The Iowa Jazz Championships are considered to be a unique event nationally due to the format and caliber of performances. The annual state championship event invites the top 15 jazz ensembles for each class 1A-4A (60 bands total), bringing together many of Iowa’s finest young jazz musicians to compete in one of the largest one day festivals in the nation. Jazz Bands qualify for the Iowa Jazz Championships through district and independent qualifying festivals. Each jazz ensemble performs a twenty-minute set before a panel of three judges during the morning and afternoon competition. The top two performing jazz bands from each class will then compete that evening in the Des Moines Civic Center for the Iowa Jazz Championship state titles.
The Southeast Polk High School Jazz Band will perform at 3:15 pm on stage at the CY Stephens Auditorium. The afternoon award ceremony will take place also at CY Stephens Auditorium at 5:15 p.m. and the Championship Concert will begin at 7:00 p.m. Admission to the daytime competition is $10. Evening Finals Competition is $10.
