Membership is this award-winning ensemble is by audition-only. The ensemble is comprised primarily of students
who play saxophone, trumpet, trombone or rhythm section instruments and is taken for credit. Performances
include (but are not limited to) the Winter Concert, Festival Concert, Colt Celebration, State Jazz Festival,
Concert and the Spring Concert. The Jazz Ensemble hosts the annual Colt Celebration, an evening
of dinner and dancing held every March.
The Jazz Ensemble received repeated invitations to perform at the Detroit Jazz Festival, with the most recent appearance
in 2010, and performed with Alexander Zonjic in 2008. The band was a top finalist in the Pontiac Jazz Invitational
for three consecutive years, placed first at the 2006 WMU Jazz Invitational, and was runner up in the national Ellington
Jazz Competition. In 2011, the Band performed at the Michigan Music Conference. The Jazz Band has
travelled extensively, performing in music festivals in Boston (MA), Chattanooga (TN), Chicago (IL), Atlanta (GA) Orlando (FL),
and San Antonio (TX). The Jazz Ensemble received top honors during these competitions, most recently garnering the "Gold Award"
at the Heritage Music Festival in San Antonio. During that same trip the ensemble had the privilege of entertaining crowds
on the world-famous River Walk during the city's Fiesta! Celebration.
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