Last weekend, Hamilton International Middle School’s Senior Jazz Band grabbed First Place in the Middle School Division at the 2013 Bellevue High School Jazz Festival. The school’s 25-member Senior Jazz Band, under the direction of Dan Rowe, beat out 16 other middle school jazz bands and trombonist Michael D. received an outstanding soloist award.
Festival adjudicators also named Hamilton the “Best of the Best” among the 50 bands that competed (32 of which were actually high school bands). This is the second time in 31 years that a middle school was chosen for top honor.
Listen to their winning final performance at this link or click below. I don’t know about any of you, but my middle school band sounded NOTHING like this. I’m completely blown away:
HIMS-Bellevue HS 2013 Jazz Competition Winning Song from dominicleong on Vimeo.
(If you’re having trouble viewing the embedded video, try refreshing your page. If all else fails, click on the link I’ve indicated above.)
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This is truly phenomenal! Congratulations to the Hamilton community on an incredible achievement.
I can’t believe there have been no other comments on this post.
I am with you, Margaret, this performance “completely blows me away.” This is one of the most impressive feats of excellence I have ever seen a group of 12-14 year-olds achieve.
To see an earlier thread receive 120 comments and this post receive none – it’s disheartening.
It is disheartening, I agree, and I blame it on comment fatigue. It’s too bad, really.
Come see the band play at Folklife on Saturday at 11 at the Murel Amphitheatre. The Hamilton Vocal Jazz group is performing after the band and they won top honors at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho for Jr. High Vocal Jazz. Lots of great, talented kids.
Jazzy! Way to go Hamilton.
WOWZA!! They were great! Really says a lot that they beat out 32 HIGH SCHOOL jazz bands for best of the best. So sorry I didn’t check Wallyhood sooner so that I could have seen them at Folklife.
Yay, HIMS and Yay Mr. Rowe. So great to have this program that a few years ago was only available at Washington Middle School and Eckstein. Too bad my own child does not participate.