Jazz Java Jam!

This past Friday Lexie's high school band had an event called "Java Jam" This was  Lexie's first performance playing the piano with her new jazz band. Although she misses the jazz band at her old high school she really has adjusted to this great group of kids, and her teacher. Every jazz band plays differently, and every teacher has their own style, and I have to say that I was impressed with this particular jazz band. They all sounded amazing, and everyone did a great job playing their part with great sound. Lexie is also part of the all girls A Capella group, and they all sung great! I didn't get to record any of their singing, but I did record one of my favorite jazz pieces which is Duke Ellington's "Caravan" in which the band played. Caravan has become a favorite of mine, and I blame it on the movie Whiplash. I absolutely loved that movie, but not the barbaric actions on how the teacher in the film teaches his students. I love the drum solo in Caravan, and the adrenaline rush it gives when played, and the drummer in this jazz band nailed it. I'm only grateful that Lexie's new jazz band teacher doesn't curse, or treats his students as J.K. Simmons did in the movie, and motivates them without having to throw any furniture, or cymbals at them! 

Had so much fun listening to them play, and watching them all get down as they were playing. You can view more on my you tube channel if you'd like! It truly was a great evening with relaxing sounds of jazz, and voices that sounded like gold! Good job kids! 

2016 World Class All-Chapter Jazz Band Champions!

This past weekend members of the Highland high school jazz band had a very successful championship weekend, and we are so very proud of them! 

I will always remember the first time my oldest daughter became a member of Highland's jazz band, and how highly she talked about Mr. Tumminia. Her first impression about him was correct, because when I met him I could tell how much he loves music, and enjoys teaching it. I can tell how big his heart is in teaching his students. The fact that there is not enough funding for the arts here with music, the kids tend to fund raise a lot, and Mr. Tumminia does a lot on his own time, and dime and always makes an effort to give these kids private lessons. Even though he lives in a different township where they don't have to worry about budget cuts for the arts, working in a school district where they have cut a lot of the funding can have a teacher pouring their heart out in doing everything they can to keep it going, and that's Mr. Tumminia. I can see that he is doing his very best to see that our kids get the kind of music education that he knows they need. 

As a a parent I can tell how much Mr. Tumminia loves his job, and I have witnessed firsthand at all the hard work he puts in so that our kids can play their best, and be the best. I see how much he cares for his students, and how much effort he puts into having a great bond with them as their teacher. It pleases me to see that type of behavior being expressed to these kids including both my daughters, and how much he was always willing to go out of his way to help them every time they needed assistance. I have seen nothing but positivity radiating out of my girls when it came to playing, and there were times when Sierra seemed a little nervous before a performance, but I think that comes at being good at what you do which in her case is a great pianist! But at the end of her four years of playing with the band she always appreciated the hard work, and time Mr. Tumminia put in for her while she was the main pianist at Highland. 

Sure there are times when my girls would mention his frustration especially when band players would hit the wrong note because they didn't practice enough, and believe me when I say this. Teachers know. They know when these kids are not practicing enough at home, and they can get really disappointed when they don't. But that's part of being a band director. Especially when your performing for the state championship. Hello, ever seen the movie Whiplash? Not that Mr. Tumminia is anywhere near J.K. Simmons character, and actions portrayed in the film, but I totally understand why band directors are stern in their rules especially when it comes to practicing, and preparing for any jazz band competition...especially the championship finals. 

That's another reason why I tell Lexie to practice, practice, practice, and to never hesitate to ask for help! 

When I read about all the achievements some of the students accomplished this past weekend as well as throughout the year I knew I had to document it on here so that Lexie can remember how well their band did as a whole. I'm so proud of Lexie for always playing her best when it came to doing her part as one of the pianists in the band. Their winnings are well deserved, and it's all because of Mr. Tummunia's hard work. 

It is my hope that the future students of Highland High school will have more years like this, and that the future generations of the highland jazz band will enter into the band room filled with enthusiasm ready to work, and play in unison with great communication so that they can continue to hold the title of being champions. 

I was really impressed with all the accomplishments that Mr. Tumminia mentioned in an email for all the hard work, and winnings our children received, and they are listed as follows:

*  Friday night, the Jazz Band won the 2016 TIA World Class All-Chapter Jazz Band Championship.  Our band has now won four ACC titles in a row at this event.  Their score of 98.26 was the highest score earned over the four-day Wildwood ACC championships, of any event.

* Saturday night, the Jazz Band, coming in originally as a #8 seed, placed 5th in the New Jersey Division III Jazz Band Championships.  At the event, we won the award for BEST TROMBONE SECTION.  It is our first trombone sectional award at a state championship in over 25 years.  Congrats to our trombone section members Kryssa Goodhart, Samantha Dorofy, Emily Hand, and Michelle Sapp.  We also finished with our highest scoring at the NJ State Finals since 1990, with a score of 88.1  We were only 2.6 points away from 2nd place, beat the 6th place band by 6.3 points, and beat the 7th place band (Overbrook) by 8.8 points!  Clearly, the judges placed your kids in elite status as one of the top programs in the state.

* Over the season, we were awarded honors for Best Rhythm Section, and Best Trombone Section, and four different musicians (Ben Woodward, Amanda Clarkson, Eddie McKeown, and Elliott Howard) won best soloist awards at various events.  This is the first time, that I can remember, that Highland has had four different soloists win awards in the same year.  These are very rare accomplishments of which we are all very proud.

He also mentioned the our jazz band is one of six finalists who are competing to win a chance to perform with Philly Pops, So if you can spare two seconds of your time to vote please click on this Facebook link, and "like" the post about Highland. You can hear them sing the song "Sing, Sing, Sing" here. The concert will be on Monday, May 23, at 7pm at the Investors Bank Performing Arts Center in Washington Township. 

Here's hoping y'all had another great weekend, and let's hope our school wins & that we get some sunshine this week! 

Happy Monday folks! 

Sing, Sing, Sing & Lexie Playing the Piano In A Video.

Since I hardly take pictures of Lexie when it comes to her jazz band competitions I felt it would b suitable to post this picture of her from her homecoming last fall. 

The kids are required to look sharply dressed while performing and I have to say that everyone looked so nice on their most recent competition. They looked extra sharp on this evening partially because it fell on the same night as their prom. 

Last week we finally had the opportunity to finally see Lexie perform and to hear how this years jazz band sounds, and although it's a different group of kids they continue to play well, and I'm very proud at how well Lexie plays the piano. It may not be her forte, because she prefers playing the violin, but loves playing instruments even if it's a big box of wood, and enjoys being a part of the jazz band for her school. 

My favorite piece of the evening was when four of the band members sang "Sing, Sing, Sing" which is originally sung by the New York Voices. Lexie was the accompanist, and everyone sang and played so well! Their energy in singing made me want to get up and do some swing dancing! It was fun to watch their reactions while singing, and could tell that they were having fun singing the song. Lexie was getting into the rhythm of the song while playing the piano, and for a moment had a flashback of when Sierra used to play for the band. Totally Bittersweet. 

It was such a fun evening, and Chelsea and Noah were so happy to finally see their sister in action on the piano, and hearing that song made my evening. I'm a lover of jazz, and hope that each year all the bands in every school district  in the universe never stop playing, and that jazz will never die. 

Here's the video if you'd like to see! 

**You can also view other posts of Lexie, and Sierra in previous jazz band performances here, here, and here.