As a school, North Scott excels in many different areas, and many of our programs are fantastic. Recently, another excellent North Scott program was recognized for one of their performances.
On March 8th, North Scott High School’s jazz bands played at the SEIBA Jazz Festival for a panel of judges. This festival, hosted at Davenport Central High School, is attended annually by high school jazz bands throughout the southeast district of Iowa. North Scott Jazz 1 played very wel, and was named the overall 1st place 4A high school jazz band at this festival. Along with this recognition, Jazz 1 will be participating in the Iowa Jazz Championships because of these results.
The Iowa Jazz Championships is hosted by Iowa State University on April 8th. Participating in this event is a high honor for any high school jazz band in the state of Iowa. North Scott Jazz 1 will travel to Ames to play in this competition among the top 15 4A jazz bands in the entire state. This year will be the first year North Scott has gone to the championships in almost a decade, making it a very important honor for all the students involved. I interviewed a few members of North Scott’s Jazz 1 to ask them some questions about their performance at SEIBA and the process leading up to it and to championships in April.
Nathan Anderson
Nathan Anderson is a junior, and he is the lead alto sax player in North Scott’s Jazz 1. He is involved in many different musical groups and ensembles and is very committed to music. I asked him how he felt about the band winning first place at SEIBA. He was very excited for this outcome, saying, “When I found out that North Scott won, I was really excited because our group had come really close to this accomplishment in the past, and it was great to finally achieve this.” Over the past few years, North Scott has been extremely close a few times to making it to the jazz championships. However, everything changed this year. He told me why he thought North Scott stood out to the judges this year, stating “I think that the confidence we exhibited on stage was really what stood out. I can’t speak for everyone, but I felt pretty chill going into the performance.” To be confident in a performance, you have to prepare a lot and make sure you are ready. Nathan Anderson prepared by digging into the music as much as possible. He told me that he made sure to pay attention to every aspect of the music to create the next performance possible. I finished this interview by asking him what he’s looking forward to for jazz championships, and he told me he’s looking forward to “getting to go there, play our set, [and] make some great music.” Mostly, he is happy just to play in this group, explaining that “I’ve just come to love playing in the group. I consider myself truly blessed to have this opportunity.”
Taylar Vondal
Next, I interviewed Taylar Vondal, the band’s bari sax player. As a junior, she is in many different performing ensembles besides jazz band, including band, choir, and Lancer Productions. She told me she was very happy with the results from the SEIBA festival and was very proud of the progress this group has made. When I asked her what she thought the judges were impressed with, she said the most important factor was “the way we presented ourselves and the mindset we had going into that performance.” Expanding on this thought, she discussed how playing for the enjoyment of the audience and the band instead of for the judges allowed the band to have fun. Every player in this group had to work very hard to prepare for this, and the performance at SEIBA gave the band a chance to have fun and get everything out there. I understand all too well the amount of time it takes to prepare music. Taylar said she prepared hers by practicing a lot and listening to the recordings of each song. Lastly, I asked her what she’s looking forward to at Ames. She responded, telling me she’s “most excited to play with the people in the band again, make the audience feel good, and overall just have an enjoyable time playing with the amount of talent in our group.”
Zach McMann
Zach McMann is a junior, and he is the lead trombone player in Jazz 1. Involved in many music groups, Zach spends a lot of his time with music. He told me he was “overjoyed and almost in disbelief” when he found out that North Scott was recognized as the 1st place 4A band. However, in addition to this achievement that Jazz 1 received, Zach McMann was awarded the overall 4A Outstanding Soloist Award out of the entire festival, an honor he is very proud to have received. Specifically, he stated that “it was nice to see the results of the time and effort I’ve put in.” All of his and the entire band’s work paid off, and Zach put into his words what he thinks allowed our band to do so well at SEIBA: “I think the passion that we put into the music made us memorable to the judges. We’ve worked really hard to refine the contrasting styles of our tunes, and to express the intent of the song through our playing. We strive to inspire the audience with our emotion. There are some very special moments in our set, and I believe that is the reason why we got the recognition.” The emotion and feeling put into each song seems to be commonly agreed upon to be a big factor of this band’s success. Zach was happy with the day in its entirety because of how fun playing this music was. He discussed how he was happy to play in the band no matter what, regardless of the band’s result. To end this interview, I asked him what he was most looking forward to at jazz championships. He said, “I’m just very excited for the new opportunity at jazz championships and to play with my friends in front of an expanded audience. I feel truly blessed for the opportunities and the people that make it possible for us to play music together.”
Looking to Ames and Beyond
Overall, North Scott’s Jazz 1 had a lot of success at SEIBA. However, a common theme between the band members I interviewed seemed to be that all of them weren’t too concerned with impressing judges. Each person knew that by playing for themselves and an audience, they could create good music regardless of what a judge would think. Music is all about feeling. Fully connecting to it while playing creates the best performances. No matter how North Scott does at jazz championships, one thing is certain: This band is going to keep playing for their audience — no matter what.
