Beloit Memorial Jazz Orchestra Invited to New Orleans Jazz Fest

By Avery Lewis — Increscent Writer

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Invitation

The Beloit Memorial Jazz Orchestra (BMJO) has hit yet another high note with its recent invitation to perform at The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. On the calendar for April 28 to May 7 and commonly referred to as Jazz Fest, this celebrated event in was started in 1970 by Duke Ellington, among others.

For five years in a row, the BMJO has been accepted into the prestigious Essentially Ellington Jazz Competition and Festival in New York City, and the orchestra is looking to go back this spring. On the same scale, the BMJO has played numerous festivals and competitions across the country as well as being invited to perform at a celebrity wedding in Napa Valley, California last fall.

The outstanding reputation of the BMJO seems to be spreading across the country and the connections made from these opportunities keep producing even more incredible experiences for this program, said BMJO Director Chris Behrens, adding that Jazz Fest is “…a ten-day cultural fest in which thousands of musicians, cooks and craftspeople welcome 400,000 visitors each year.”

Only High School to receive Invitation

Among musicians and bands performing in the past at what has become one of the largest jazz festivals in the world: Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Santana, Sarah Vaughan, Paul Simon, B.B. King, Dave Matthews Band, Patti LaBelle, Tito Puente, Al Green, Bonnie Raitt, James Brown, Celia Cruz, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Willie Nelson, The Temptations, Van Morrison, LL Cool J, Abbey Lincoln, Erykah Badu, Dave Brubeck.

Jazz Fest fits a range of different types of music and culture into its activities, encompassing all the different types of music associated with New Orleans and Louisiana, Behrens stressed. “Some of last year’s headliners included: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Van Morrison, Pearl Jam, Flo Rida, Paul Simon, Snoop Dog and Stevie Wonder.”

Behrens explained that the BMJO was recommended to the selection committee by Victor Goines, a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and a clinician and mentor who works with our band every year in preparation for Essentially Ellington.

What’s even more impressive is that Beloit Memorial is the only high school invited to perform at Jazz Fest this year, Behrens said.

“The committee was specifically looking for a non-local high school jazz band to showcase at their event,” said Behrens. “Our invitation is a result of our program becoming more nationally known – through such events as the Essentially Ellington competition finals and the wedding performance in 2015.”

Along with Behrens, BMJO musicians recognize the important opportunity Jazz Fest presents, offering the perfect place to showcase its skill and to experience a wide range of music and culture. This opportunity results from the incredible amount of work the musicians and director put in over the year.

Student Reflections on Opportunity

Senior Nora Lewis, an alto saxophone player is looking forward to the festival. She said, “Since I’ve already been to New Orleans, I’ve experienced the culture there, but not at one of their jazz festivals. Performing at the heritage festival is going to put a lot of positive pressure on the band and give us a new experience in New Orleans. It is a huge honor that we are recommended.”

Jazz Fest offers the perfect place for the Jazz Orchestra to showcase its skill and to experience a wide range of music and culture. This opportunity results from the incredible amount of work the musicians and director put in over the year.

Senior Niall Gillen, who plays tenor saxophone for BMJO, offered, “It is the first time the jazz band will play at this festival, which shows that all the hard work put into the program over the years has come to a tangible result.”

The BMJO is not taking the Jazz Fest lightly and expects to be able to showcase its music at an elite level when members arrive to New Orleans in April, according to Behrens. This program seems to have established itself as a top jazz band in the country and the hard work has paid off once again, he said.

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