On March 12, the OH Jazz Ensemble hosted their spring jazz night, the final performance of the 2023-24 school year.
“We have another jazz concert in November, but this one sort of takes all of the songs we’ve been working on throughout the year, and we get to share them with everyone,” said OH senior Lilliah Engel, a piano player in Jazz 1.
The program as a whole has experienced tremendous success during their 2023-24 season, performing concerts in both November and January and scoring first place in the Mundelein Jazz Festival this March.
OH students, staff, and families were invited to attend the spring performance and support the OH Jazz program.
“I think we always play better when there’s an audience in the room, because we get to feed off of that energy,” said Engel.
The OH Jazz program shared performances from each of their jazz groups: Blue, Orange, Combo, and Jazz 1. Guest performers accompanied the students.
“For whatever reason, a lot of students in the band have parents who are also musicians, so we had a bunch of guests from our pool of parents come to play with us,” said OH Band Director Kevin Schoenbach.
Schoenbach directs the top band program, Jazz 1, and Craig Roselieb directs both the Blue and Orange Panther jazz bands.
“Mr. Schoenbach also pushed us a lot to become better because he knew we had potential,” said Jacob Salas, a senior in Jazz 1.
Salas participates in the Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage with OH seniors Charles Snyder and Andrew Gabaldon. The group was one of 15 selected to compete in the Essentially Ellington competition in New York.
“We’ve never had any students that have gotten to do that before, and we have three [students selected] this year, which is really exciting,” explained Schoenbach.
The OH jazz program has not only allowed students to grow as musicians, but has also given them the opportunity to create lasting friendships with one another.
“When you have a very good and fun group, jazz feels less of a commitment and more of wanting to go for the sake of wanting to go,” said Salas.
With hours of practice and rehearsals, the students spend a lot of time with one another.
“[There’s] a commitment to the people in it. You want to do your best for them,” said Engel.
The students within the program support and encourage one another to be their best and put their all into each rehearsal and performance. The students even organized and prepared a song outside of rehearsal time as a surprise thank you for Schoenbach.
“We are more of a family every time we rehearse,” explained Snyder. “The closer we are, the better we are.”
Although there is an audition process to enter the program, it is not limited to only students in the band program. Students who play additional instruments such as guitar and piano are highly encouraged to join the jazz ensemble family.
“It’s something that’s made my outlook on life different, and for the better,” said Snyder.
My name is Natalie Raabe and I am a senior at Oswego High School. This is my second year as a member of the 42fifty team and I serve as a Managing Editor and the Features Section Leader. Additionally, I am a member of the BIONIC board, NHS, Best Buddies, SNHS, NEHS, Rho Kappa, and Mu Alpha Theta.
I love this article Natalie!