Oak Park River Forest high school’s very own jazz musicians will be perform- ing a showcase of what they’ve been working on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Little Theater.
Featured groups will include Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Band II, as well as bands from Brooks and Julian middle schools.
Jazz Ensemble recently won second place at the annual Purdue Jazz Festival, missing first place by just one point. This is the second year in a row Jazz Ensemble has taken second place in this event.
“This is one of the longest-running and most competitive festivals hosting groups from all over the Midwest includ- ing Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois,” stat- ed Anthony Svejda, the director of band at OPRF, in an email sent out to the school staff.
“It’s a much smaller group of people than band, which allows us to connect with each other more,” said Sela Snyder, a senior who plays in Jazz Ensemble.
This connection was evident at a meeting for Jazz Band II, with a light and friendly atmosphere present throughout the rehearsal. Svejda led the group in warm-ups before launching into a run- through of the song “Great Minds Swing Alike.” Svejda gave pointers and the band worked out the kinks in their playing.
Players in Jazz Ensemble use a wide variety of instruments, including trum- pets, trombones and saxophones, as well as piano, bass drums and the recently added violin.