Formed in 1986, the Youth Jazz Ensemble is comprised of outstanding high school jazz musicians from throughout the Capital Region. Repertoire for the ensemble covers most of the history of jazz from early swing of the 1920s to the exciting jazz/rock fusion of the 1980s to today’s contemporary jazz. The Youth Jazz Ensemble has performed at the College of Saint Rose, the Saratoga and Guilderland Performing Arts Centers, at the City of Albany’s First Night Celebration, and in 1999 toured Switzerland. In March 2005 the Ensemble was paired with the Eastman Jazz Ensemble in a concert at the NY State Band Directors Association Conference in Syracuse. The ensemble has also worked with guest artists such as “Blue” Lou Marini and Allen Vizzutti.
Rehearsals are generally held on Monday evenings from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Massry Center for the Arts at The College of Saint Rose unless otherwise noted.
Entrance auditions are held in June.
