This past Wednesday, March 6th, Oakmont’s Jazz Band visited Algonquin Regional High School to participate in the MAJE (Massachusetts Association for Jazz Education) Districts. They performed for three different judges and played their three competition pieces “Lady Bird” by Tadd Dameron and arranged by Mark Taylor, “A Kiss From You” written and arranged by Benny Carter and edited by Jeffrey Sultanof and Rob DuBoff, and “Barnburner” by Les Hooper. After they left the stage, they went right into a clinic with saxophonist John Mastroianni and he gave them tips on how to make their set even better.
Oakmont was in Division Two with two other ensembles and was the only group to receive a gold medal. Three musicians from Oakmont received awards for outstanding musicianship including Joe Barrows on alto saxophone, Sam Flannery on piano, and AJ Lasorsa on trombone. An MVP award was given to one musician among all the three bands in Division Two, and it was awarded to Oakmont’s very own All-State Musician, Nolan Leclair on vibraphone and drumset! Oakmont’s gold medal came with an automatic invite to the MAJE State Finals which will be held at Norwood High School and Coakley Middle School this Saturday, March 16. Good luck, Spartans!
