As Plano West Senior High School’s Wolf Band prepares to go to New York City next month to compete in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival for the sixth time, the team has invited saxophonist and composer Chad Eby to lead a clinic preparing the ensemble for competition.
Eby brings a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies, a master’s in saxophone performance and multiple critically acclaimed albums to the workshop. He will work with the students at Plano West Senior High on Monday, April 8 at 4:30 p.m.
The Plano West Jazz Orchestra is a six-time finalist in the competition, where more than 100 schools from across the country submit to the program and spend three days immersed in workshops, jam sessions, rehearsals, performances and compete for top honors and to be one of the top 15 and go to New York. PWSH was a finalist in 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. According to the district, these students are no stranger to awards. Since 2020, the program has won 21 DownBeat Student Music Awards and performed at the Jazz Education Network Conference twice.
The only Texas team to make it to the finals this year, the Wolf Band is heading to New York City from May 9-11 to compete against the other top 15 high school jazz bands. The competition will commemorate the 125th birthday of the late jazz musician Duke Ellington.
“Duke is our most comprehensive and prolific composer. Jazz at Lincoln Center commemorates his 125th year and celebrates the fantastic young people and band directors inspired by his music and approach to life,” said Wynton Marsalis, managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. “Congratulations to this year’s Essentially Ellington finalist bands. As you participate in the competition and festival, be part of a learning experience but also have a good time; Duke’s music’s most basic concern is uplift of the human spirit.”
Check out their performance from 2022:
