News & Updates
Jazz at Lincoln Center is proud to announce the 26th annual Essentially Ellington Festival will take place virtually on June 4th and 5th, 2021! Stay tuned for a full schedule of events, including a finalist student Q & A with Wynton, the much anticipated Cheer Tunnel, band performances and interviews, an awards ceremony and more! The following bands were selected as finalists for the Virtual Essentially Ellington Festival:
Newton South High School
Newton, MA
directed by Lisa Linde
Agoura High School
Agoura Hills, CA
directed by Chad Bloom
Roosevelt High School
Seattle, WA
directed by Scott Brown
Tucson Jazz Institute
Tucson, AZ
directed by Johnathan Black
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
West Palm Beach, FL
directed by Christopher de León
William H. Hall High School
West Hartford, CT
directed by James Antonucci
Olathe Northwest High School
Olathe, KS
directed by Robert Davis
Champaign Central High School
Champaign, IL
directed by John Currey
Byron Center High School
Byron Center, MI
directed by Marc Townley
Memphis Central High School
Memphis, TN
directed by Ollie Liddell
Carroll Senior High School
Southlake, TX
directed by David Lown
Plano West Senior High School
Plano, TX
directed by Preston Pierce
Foxboro High School
Foxboro, MA
directed by Aaron Bush
Noblesville High School
Noblesville, IN
directed by Bethany Robinson
Dillard Center for the Arts
Fort Lauderdale, FL
directed by Christopher Dorsey
And the winner of the Essentially Ellington Dr. J. Douglas White Student Composition and Arranging Contest is:
Daiki Nakajima from Prospect High School in Saratoga, CA for his original composition “Fracture”