PORT ANGELES — Prize-winning members of the Northwinds Homeschool Jazz and Concerts Bands are preparing to present a free local community concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 20.
The concert will be at Independent Bible Church 116 E. Ahlvers Road, Port Angeles.
The Northwinds Homeschool Jazz Band, led by director Dan Tutton, recently placed first in the 1-A Division at the 55th Annual Clark College Jazz Festival, held Jan. 25-27 in Vancouver, Wash.
Northwinds trumpet player Adam Kennedy and tenor saxophonist Tristan Lowman each were awarded Outstanding Musician Awards for their respective instrumental solos.
The Jazz Band is comprised of local homeschooled students from the Port Angeles and Sequim areas. The band rehearses twice weekly in Port Angeles.
The Jazz Band competed against both public and private schooled students at the Vancouver festival. The high school 1-A Division is comprised of schools with up to 525 students in grades 10-12.
The Clark College Jazz Festival has hosted the largest jazz festival in southwest Washington for over 50 years, band organizers said.
Always the last weekend in January, the festival attracts more than 60 middle and high school instrumental jazz ensembles, and over 1,200 student jazz musicians for the three-day competition.
During the day, groups perform to, and receive instruction from, a panel of adjudicators made up of jazz musicians and educators. Student bands compete for the opportunity to return for the evening finals and a chance to be awarded first-, second -or third-place.
Northwinds Jazz and Concert Bands participated in the Anaheim Heritage Festival in 2017, where they received three gold awards, one silver award and one maestro award.
The concert bands also performed at the Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa, Calif. — a Festival of Gold invitation-only event honoring veterans of the Vietnam War.
