The Big Band at the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music has been named one of 30 finalists in the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival and will perform at Lincoln Center in May. The annual competition, now in its 30th year, will bring together top high school jazz ensembles from all over the United States, as well as Spain, Japan, and Australia.<\/p>\n
This is not the Celia Cruz Big Band\u2019s first time being honored in the high-level competition. The band made the finals in 2020 but had to participate virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so this year will mark the school\u2019s first in-person appearance.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the contest, all the finalist schools are hosting visits by acclaimed musicians to help inspire and prepare the students for the big stage. Grammy-winning trombonist, arranger, composer, and educator Francisco Torres met with the Celia Cruz students on March 17 and worked with them for four hours on \u201cbringing the music they\u2019re playing to the next level,\u201d said band director Penelope Smetters-Jacono.<\/p>\n
Smetters-Jacono, who has led the Celia Cruz band program since it opened in 2003, said her 20 Big Band students have been working hard all year to qualify for Essentially Ellington. Given the high level of competition from across the U.S. and around the world, \u201cJust to be chosen as a finalist is an honor,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The students are rehearsing the classic Ellington tunes \u201cI Didn\u2019t Know About You,\u201d \u201cThe St. Louis Blues\u201d and \u201cWhat Am I Here For,\u201d plus the lesser-known \u201cOclupaca,\u201d from his album \u201cLatin American Suite.\u201d Smetters-Jacono said her teenage students love the old jazz standards. \u201cOnce they\u2019re exposed to it, they find a deep love for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Essentially Ellington will be an opportunity for growth and learning, not just competition, she said. \u201cWe\u2019re honored to be part of this, and we\u2019re really excited to share our music with everyone else on a stage with so many other excellent ensembles.\u201d This year, as the competition marks its 30th anniversary, the program was extended from three days to five to allow bands more time to participate in competitions, jam sessions, workshops, and rehearsals. The final concert and awards ceremony will be held May 11 at the Metropolitan Opera House.<\/p>\n
The Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music’s Big Band is set to make its in-person debut at the Essentially Ellington competition, a milestone that marks a significant achievement for the school and its students. With their hard work, dedication, and passion for jazz, they are sure to make a lasting impression at the competition.<\/p>\n
A: The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival is an annual competition that brings together top high school jazz ensembles from all over the United States and around the world to perform and compete at Lincoln Center in New York City.<\/p>\n
A: 30 finalists are selected for the competition each year.<\/p>\n
A: The Celia Cruz Big Band made the finals in 2020 but had to participate virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year marks the school\u2019s first in-person appearance.<\/p>\n
A: The final concert and awards ceremony will feature performances by the finalist bands, including the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music’s Big Band, and will be held May 11 at the Metropolitan Opera House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to Essentially Ellington Competition The Big Band at the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music has been named one of 30 finalists in the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival and will perform at Lincoln Center in May. The annual competition, now in its 30th year, will bring together top […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bxtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_9937.jpeg?w=1200&p=q&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15201"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15201"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15203,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15201\/revisions\/15203"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}