Fremd High School bands successful at North Shore Jazz Festival

The Fremd High School Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band recently performed at the 38th annual North Shore Jazz Festival.

The festival took place at Glenbrook South High School on Jan. 24. The Jazz Ensemble, directed by Matt Moore, was awarded straight "Division 1/Superior" rating by three collegiate judges in the top band division. The Jazz Lab Band, directed by Jeremy Figlewicz and Sam Simpson, also earned a "Division 1/Superior" rating in the second band division.

"It was a wonderful experience for our students to perform at the North Shore Jazz Festival," Simpson said. "For several of our students, it was their first time performing at the high school level and they played very well. They came in focused and ready to share their craft with the audience. We also received an outstanding clinic afterward that was very informative and educational. Our students came out learning a lot and have become better musicians because of the experience."

This is the Jazz Ensembles' 15th consecutive jazz festival where they were awarded a "Division 1/Superior" rating. Each band participated in an educational clinic with a collegiate or professional jazz band director in addition to their performances.

"We were really proud of both of our jazz bands for their performances at the North Shore Festival," said Matthew Moore, band director at Fremd High School. "The festival is an excellent opportunity for our students to 'go on the road' and perform jazz music for collegiate music educators, students, and parents. The collegiate music educators also give excellent feedback with evaluating our jazz bands in many different performance areas."

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