Competing Bands
The Essentially Ellington Competition was originally open only to high school bands east of the Mississippi, but in 1999 bands across the US and Canada were allowed to enter as well. Several bands from the Seattle area have been repeat finalists, including Roosevelt High School, Garfield High School, Shorewood High School, Newport High School, Edmonds-Woodway High School and Mountlake Terrace High school. Agoura High School, from Agoura Hills, California, has also produced seven finalist ensembles in six consecutive years. The Lovett School from Atlanta, Georgia and their renowned Ellington Jazz Band has also made numerous appearances to the festival. Also, the Champaign Central High School jazz ensemble, out of Central Illinois, has been to the event twice since 2005, making their repeat performance in 2008. Along with St. Charles East, they are one of only two bands from Illinois to do so, and the only band from Illinois to do so within a 4 year span . There has also been one Canadian band from River East Collegiate (in Winnipeg, Manitoba) to merit an invitation to the festival four times since '03.
In 2008 five of the fifteen bands to compete were from the greater Seattle area. Acknowledging the Northwest's dominance at Ellington, Marsalis said, his tongue only half in cheek, "I'm challenging you all to do something about Seattle and Washington."
Here is a list of all bands, by state, that have competed.
Essentially Ellington Participants (# of schools from state/ # of accumulated years participating / # of awards)
Alabama (1, 1, 0)
Grissom High School – Huntsville, AL 1999
California (7, 24, 5)
Agoura High School – Agoura Hills, CA 2004, 2005, 2006 (H.M.), 2007 (2nd), 2009, 2011
Agoura High School (Jazz A) – Agoura Hills, CA 2007, 2008
Albany High School – Albany, CA 2010
Calabasas High School – Calabasas, CA 2003, 2006, 2009
Esperanza High School - Anaheim, CA 2012
Los Angeles County High School for the Arts – Los Angeles, CA 2003 (3rd), 2006, 2009
Rio Americano High School – Sacramento, CA 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012 (H.M.)
SF Jazz All-Star High School Ensemble – San Francisco, CA 2002, 2003 (H.M.)
Colorado (1, 2)
Denver School of the Arts – Denver, CO 1999, 2004
Connecticut (4, 18, 6)
Connecticut Youth Jazz Workshop – Middletown, CT 2000, 2002
Greenwich High School – Greenwich, CT 1996, 2003, 2007
Guilford High School – Guilford, CT 1997, 1998 (H.M.), 1999, 2003
William H. Hall High School – West Harford, CT 1997 (3rd), 1998 (1st), 1999 (2nd), 2000 (1st), 2001 (H.M.), 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011
Florida (5, 17, 13)
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School for the Arts – West Palm Beach, FL 1998
Dillard Center for the Arts – Fort Lauderdale, FL 2010 (2nd), 2011 (1st), 2012 (1st)
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts – Jacksonville, FL 2004, 2006 (1st), 2008
Howard W. Blake High School – Tampa, FL 1999 (H.M.)
New World School of the Arts – Miami, FL 2000 (2nd), 2002 (3rd), 2003 (2nd), 2004 (H.M.), 2005 (1st), 2009 (H.M.), 2010, 2011 (H.M.), 2012 (3rd)
Georgia (1, 4, 2)
The Lovett School – Atlanta, GA 2000, 2001 (3rd), 2004 (H.M.), 2010
Illinois (11, 15, 1)
Champaign Central High School – Champaign, IL 2005, 2008, 2012
DeKalb High School– DeKalb, IL 2008, 2012
Downers Grove South High School – Downers Grove, IL 2011
East St. Louis High School – East St. Louis, IL 2011
Lake Zurich High School – Lake Zurich, IL 2006
Naperville North High School – Naperville, IL 2000
St. Charles High School – St. Charles, IL 1998, 2000
St. Charles East High School – St. Charles, IL 2003
St. Charles North High School – St. Charles, IL 2004, 2011
Thornton Township High School – Harvey, IL 2002
Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage – Wheaton, IL 2001 (H.M.)
Indiana (1, 1, 0)
Southport High School – Indianapolis, IN 1999
Iowa (3, 4, 0)
North Scott High School – Eldridge, IA 2009
Sioux City North High School – Sioux City, IA 2006
Valley High School – West Des Moines, IA 1999, 2011
Kansas (1, 2, 0)
Shawnee Mission East High School – Prairie Village, KS 2001, 2006
Maryland (1, 1, 0)
Arundel High School – Gambrills, MD 2001
Massachusetts (5, 26, 10)
Foxboro High School – Foxboro, MA 1997 (1st), 1998 (2nd), 1999 (H.M.), 2000 (H.M.), 2001 (H.M.), 2002, 2003, 2004 (2nd), 2005, 2007 (3rd), 2009, 2010 (3rd), 2011
King Philip Regional High School – Wrentham, MA 2002, 2007 (H.M.), 2010
Lexington High School – Lexington, MA 1998 (H.M.), 1999, 2003, 2006
Medfield High School – Medfield, MA 2005, 2008, 2012
Wellesley High School – Wellesley, MA 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011
Michigan (1, 2, 0)
Interlochen Arts Academy – Interlochen, MI 1998, 2003
Missouri (1,1,0)
Grandview High School – Grandview, MO 2007
Nebraska (1, 1, 0)
Lincoln Southeast High School – Lincoln, NE 1999
New Jersey (2, 2, 0)
Parsippany High School – Parsippany, NJ 1996
Newark Academy - Livingston, NJ 2012
New York (16, 32, 8)
315 All-Stars – Greater Syracuse, NY 2001 (1st), 2002, 2003 (H.M.)
Adlai E. Stevenson High School – Bronx, NY 1996 (3rd)
Brentwood High School – Brentwood, NY 1996, 1997
Canandaigua Academy – Canandaigua, NY 1996
Eastman Youth Jazz Ensemble – Rochester, NY 2003
Fieldston High School – Riverdale, NY 1996
Honeoye Falls-Lima High School – Honeoye Falls, NY 1996 (2nd), 1997 (H.M.), 2004, 2007
Honeoye Falls-Perinton Jazz Ensemble – Honeoye Falls, NY 1999
Kingston High School – Kingston, NY 2009
Laurens High School – Laurens, NY 1996
LaGuardia High School for Music, Art and the Performing Arts – New York, NY 1996 (1st), 1997 (2nd), 1998, 1999, 2000 (H.M.), 2002, 2005, 2010
Miller Place High School – Miller Place, NY 1996
Penfield High School – Penfield, NY 1997, 1998, 1999
Rochester Area High School Jazz Ensemble – Honeoye Falls, NY 2000
West Genesee High School – Camillus, NY 1997
Williamsville East High School – East Amherst, NY 1999, 2007
Ohio (3, 3, 0)
Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra – Columbus, OH 2002
Lakota East High School - Liberty Township, OH 2012
Westerville South High School – Westerville, OH 2004
Oregon (1, 1, 0)
Arts & Communications Magnet Academy – Beaverton, OR 2005
Pennsylvania (3, 6, 1)
Pennsbury High School – Fairless Hills, PA 1997 (H.M.)
State College Area High School – State College, PA 1998, 1999, 2006, 2009
Upper Darby High School – Upper Darby, PA 1998
Rhode Island (1, 2, 0)
Barrington High School – Barrington, RI 1998, 2000
Tennessee (1, 1, 0)
Hume-Fogg Academic High School – Nashville, TN 1998
Texas (5, 8, 1)
Carroll Senior High School – Southlake, TX 2007, 2010
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts – Houston, TX 1999 (3rd)
Plano Senior High School – Plano, TX 2005, 2010
Stephen F. Austin High School – Austin, TX 2008
Temple High School – Temple, TX 2004, 2011
Virginia (2, 3, 0)
Chantilly High School – Chantilly, VA 1997, 1998
McLean High School – McLean, VA 1997
Washington (12, 47, 25)
Ballard High School - Seattle, WA 2012
Battle Ground High School – Battle Ground, WA 2006 (2nd)
Edmonds-Woodway High School – Edmonds, WA 2003, 2007, 2010
Garfield High School – Seattle, WA 1999 (H.M.), 2000 (H.M.), 2002 (2nd), 2003 (1st), 2004 (1st), 2005, 2006 (3rd), 2007, 2008 (2nd), 2009 (1st), 2010 (1st)
Kentlake High School – Kent, WA 2001
Kentridge High School – Kent, WA 1999
Mead High School – Spokane, WA 2004, 2007
Mountlake Terrace High School – Mountlake Terrace, WA 2000, 2002 (H.M.), 2005 (3rd), 2008, 2011 (3rd), 2012
Newport High School – Bellevue, WA 2001, 2006, 2009
Roosevelt High School – Seattle, WA 1999, 2000 (3rd), 2001 (2nd), 2002 (1st), 2004, 2005 (2nd), 2006, 2007 (1st), 2008 (1st), 2009 (2nd), 2010 (H.M.), 2011 (2nd), 2012 (2nd)
Shorewood High School – Shoreline, WA 2000, 2001, 2005 (H.M.), 2008 (H.M.)
South Whidbey High School – Langley, WA 2008
West Virginia (1, 1, 0)
Fairmont Senior High School – Fairmont, WV 1997
Wisconsin (6, 20, 4)
Badger Union High School – Lake Geneva, WI 2009, 2012
Beloit Memorial High School – Beloit, WI 2009, 2012
North High School (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) - Eau Claire, WI 2012
Eau Claire Memorial High School – Eau Claire, WI 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009 (3rd), 2010
Pulaski High School – Pulaski, WI 2001
Sun Prairie High School – Sun Prairie, WI 1998 (3rd), 2000, 2001, 2004 (3rd), 2008 (3rd), 2011
Wauwatosa East High School – Wauwatosa, WI 2010
Canada (1, 5, 0)
River East Collegiate – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011
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