Sioux Falls Fusion Premier with Middle School Jazz Ensemble

On Tuesday evening, the All City Middle School Jazz Ensemble performed a shared concert with the Augustana Northlanders Jazz Band at Kresge Recital Hall.

The Middle School Ensemble is comprised of 20 of the finest 7th and 8th grade jazz players in the city representing all five of the city's public middle schools. That evening, the band had the great honor of playing with Doug Beach, a nationally-known Grammy Award-winning trumpeter, composer, publisher, educator and arranger. Mr. Beach commissioned the piece "Sioux Falls Fusion" especially for the group, which served as a grand finale. A fun Latin-swing number, the commission of "Sioux Falls Fusion"was made possible with support from the Mr. Kealey Fund, the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society, and the Sioux Falls Public Schools. (The photo below l-r: Doug Beach and Danny Kealey)

The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society also had the great pleasure of awarding the Michael Miller Scholarship to two players in the band. CJ Point a bass player from Patrick Henry and Pierre Guzman from Memorial. Point and Guzman will have the opportunity to study jazz privately or attend Augustana's band camp with their scholarship awards.