The Whiteland Community High School Shades of Blue jazz choir performs during the Indiana State School Music Association Jazz State Finals, which took place March 17 and 18 at Pike High School in Indianapolis.
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A pair of local schools took home awards for their performances at a statewide jazz competition.
Greenwood Community High School’s jazz choir took the stage, and Whiteland Community High School was the only school in Indiana to have representation in both jazz band and jazz choir at the Indiana State School Music Association Jazz State Finals, which took place March 17 and 18 at Pike High School in Indianapolis.
Greenwood High School’s choir took home multiple awards, winning Best Tenor Section as senior Emily Loper won Outstanding Soloist. Whiteland High School’s choir, called Shades of Blue, won Best Alto Section and senior Dalton Hughes won an award for Outstanding Soloist, according to the ISSMA website.
Overall, eight schools performed in the Vocal Jazz Ensemble category, while nine schools were listed as Instrumental Jazz Ensembles.
Jazz choirs
The State Finals didn’t have typical competitive rankings such as first, second and third place. Instead, the event was more of an opportunity for attendees to see the best of the best perform after several months of practice and performances, said Ellie VanderVeen, Whiteland High School’s assistant choir director.
“When you make it to Jazz State Finals, it’s less of a competition about who will come out on top and more so a celebration of jazz music,” VanderVeen said.
Hughes, during his last statewide performance of high school, received statewide recognition for his solo during the song “Pennies from Heaven,” a choral twist on the original upbeat jazz standard piece by Kirby Shaw, Head Choir Director Garrett Godsey said.
“Dalton put a lot of effort in this year. He’s a wonderful singer. We went to state and he did a wonderful job with his solo,” he said.
The altos had one of the most difficult singing tasks: standing out in the middle of the vocal range, Godsey said.
“I’m really proud of the work they put in to get it just right,” he said.
Shades of Blue also performed “Begin the Beguine,” a Latin dance piece arranged by Greg Jasperse and “Make Someone Happy,” by Mark Hayes, which Godsey described as a heartfelt piece. Godsey chose the pieces to show off the choir’s range, he said.
“They are three diverse and unique pieces they could perform on stage and the kids could perform with range,” Godsey said. “I try and pick music that will inspire and challenge the kids. I tend to go with music I know the kids will enjoy, but it really makes me excited kids can do such different and challenging music. It’s not easy to do with a genre like jazz.”
During the season, the choir sang the National Anthem at an Indy Fuel hockey game, performed with members of the Bradley University choir at Grace United Methodist Church and sang at the downtown Franklin tree lighting and at Kelsay Farms. The variety in performances helps the choir adjust and improve, he said.
“Any performance experience where they’re in front of people and on stage is a good experience. Anybody, when they’re performing, is a little more vulnerable than what they’re typically used to so I’m glad we get so many opportunities to do this,” Godsey said. “They get better and better each time in front of people, engaging with audiences and gaining confidence on stage.”
Jazz band
Whiteland High School’s jazz band is divided into three sections, with the most experienced students playing in Jazz Band One, which qualified for State Finals. The 19 students in Jazz Band One performed “Big Dipper” by Thad Jones, “Flirtibird” by Duke Ellington and “Who Will Buy?” arranged by Mark Taylor, said Pete Sampson, band director.
The three songs display different areas of jazz, with “Flirtibird” being a slow swing song, “Who Will Buy?” a Latin arrangement and “Big Dipper” a good fit for the entire ensemble to show how well they could play together, Sampson said.
“I wanted to make sure the kids playing had the ability to play three different styles. Jazz is everything from swing to funk, it’s a lot of different things,” he said. “Personally, I enjoy swing. I love the music of the classic big bands, along with Duke Ellington and Thad Jones, I want students to be exposed to every kind of music. Latin Jazz is fun to play, and students enjoy funk and rock tunes. All of the music within a concert is completely different.”
Students performed at the Pendleton Heights Jazz Festival in February and the DePauw Jazz Festival in November. With the ISSMA contest in the rear-view mirror, they now prepare for the Evening of Jazz concert at Whiteland High School May 5, when they’ll perform with Steven Snyder, director of jazz ensembles at DePauw University, Sampson said.
Making the ISSMA State Finals shows the payoff of students’ dedication to their craft, he said.
“One of my favorite parts about it is having them hear other groups of high school students from all over the state performing at such a high level,” Sampson said. “It gives students a sense of confidence because they worked hard enough to be among a select number of schools. It’s a celebration of the fact these are the best, and on the night of the performance, I want them to enjoy being good and enjoy the fact they worked so hard.”
