Mount Ayr Community’s Raider jazz band will take part in the Iowa Jazz Championships for the 14th time in the last 19 years after qualifying as second at the Dick Bauman jazz festival in Audubon Thursday, Feb. 25.
The Iowa Jazz Championship brings 60 of Iowa’s finest high school jazz ensembles (15 from each of the four Iowa High School Music Association classes) to Des Moines Tuesday, April 13, for the state competition.
A first or second place at the southwest Iowa jazz contest at Audubon would give the Raiders an automatic advancement to the state championships and the band took second. The team had already been named a wild card band with their performance at the Simpson College jazz festival earlier in the year.
Other jazz bands taking part in the same class with the Raider band included Elk-Horn Kimballton, East Mills, Sidney and Treynor.
“The students put on an amazing show at the Audubon high school auditorium and impressed everyone in the audience,” director Greg Storhoff said.
“The soloists were incredible, our intonation was right on and our rhythm section scored an almost perfect ballot,” Storhoff said. “It was a great day.
Selections played by the band were “Bari Bari Good” featuring Jake Glendenning, Jesse Penick, Alex Wallace and Matt Kerns, “I’ll Always Smile in the Spring” featuring Jordan Klejch and Maggie Jennett and “Children of Sanchez” featuring Jordan Klejch, Dustin Pritchett and Shannon Fox
The band had six band members named outstanding soloists for the day. They included Jordan Klejch, trumpet; Alex Wallace, vibes; Matt Kerns, alto saxophone; Jesse Penick, baritone saxophone; Jake Glendenning, baritone saxophone, and Dustin Pritchett, trombone.
Members of the rhythm section that scored so high included Alex Wallace, vibes; Ariel Dickerson, trap set; Charmaine Johnson and Maggie Jennett, piano; Ashley Phelps and Braydee Poore, bass guitar; Cacey Wilson, guitar; Katelyn Sobotka, congas, and Caitlin Giles, auxiliary percussion.
Other members of the jazz band include:
Flute: Jamie Novak and April Shields.
Alto saxophone: Adam Sickels, Karl Kerns, Taylor Lynch, Jessie Ricker, Madi Hosfield, Jennifer Blair.
Tenor saxophone: Shannon Fox, Korey Beaman, Erin Dolecheck.
Clarinet -- Hannah Saville, Hannah Fletchall, Logan Wimer, Ian Abarr.
Trombone -- Johnathan Triggs, Emily Fox, Josh Case, Grace Fernandez.
Trumpet -- Annie Uhlankamp, Jasper Abarr, Jena James, Tom Hosfield,
The next performances of this award winning band will be March 7 at the Mount Ayr First Christian Church and April 26 at the Merrill V. Perry spring band concert.