The Zionsville Middle School Jazz Ensemble, comprised of 34 students in sixth through eighth grade, recently earned first place at The Ball State Jazz Festival. The group competed against area middle and high school jazz bands.
“We try our best to teach the kids to perform well and we don’t worry much about the competitive aspect to it, but when we are placed into a situation like this where we outscore middle and high school jazz bands, some of which meet as a class every day in school, it shows what a special group of kids we get to work with at ZMS,” said Josh Weirich, ZMS band director.
The annual Dimensions in Jazz Festival hosted middle and high school bands from around the region for a day of competition and instructional clinics with professional musicians and educators. The day concluded with an evening concert that featured the winning bands from two of the three rooms and Ball State’s top jazz ensemble with featured guest soloist and trombone player, composer, and band leader John Fedchock.
The ZMS Jazz Ensemble was invited to perform at this year’s Indiana Music Educator’s Association Convention in Fort Wayne, and it also performed at the Pendleton Jazz Festival in February. An appearance at Music in The Parks in Ohio will round out a busy year.
“The end of each year is always the most bittersweet for us—we’re proud of our kids’ accomplishments, but we just don’t know how the next year will be able to top it,” said Chris Murray, ZMS band director. “If there’s one thing that we’re really proud of, though, it’s that these kids have created a culture of leaders who step up each and every time.”
