NP Jazz Band takes talent to the birthplace of jazz and blues
Submitted by David DiValentino
In late April, the North Penn Jazz Band traveled down to New Orleans to perform at the annual jazz festival. The band played in front of a crowd of around 800 people.
The North Penn Jazz band recently had the unique opportunity to travel to America’s birthplace of jazz and blues: New Orleans.
Conducted by middle school band teacher David DiValentino, the group was given the honor of performing alongside big names in jazz at the annual Jazz Festival due to their excellence in an earlier competition.
“In May of 2015, the band won the Steel Stacks jazz band showcase in Bethlehem and we were afforded the opportunity to open up for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band,” explained DiValentino “The leader of that band, Gregory Davis, also books acts for the New Orleans jazz fest. He invited the band to play as the first high school band from outside of New Orleans to ever perform at the festival.”
On Thursday, April 28th, the Jazz band took to one of the ten stages the festival had arranged. The group performed “an hour set, including eleven songs, on the Zatarain’s/WWOZ Jazz Tent” in front of a crowd of almost 800.
“Looking out and seeing all of the people in the crowd was like ‘wow, we’re actually performing in front of that many people’. It was amazing,” remarked senior jazz band member Andrew Mikida.
Aside from the festival itself, the band also held a collaborative concert with NOCCA, a local New Orleans creative arts high school. The two schools performed for each other and then played a few tunes together.
Before any of their performances, the band had plenty of time to explore the historic town of New Orleans. They truly took advantage of every opportunity, and that made it a truly fulfilling trip.
Although it is unknown whether or not the band will be asked to perform there again, this year’s trip was one that none of the members or DiValentino will ever forget.
“We were able to take a few tours around the city including the French Quarter, Louis Armstrong Park and Congo Square, and Jackson Square. This is one of the oldest cities in America and the birthplace of jazz and blues in America. We all were able to hear a concert at Preservation Hall, which is one of the oldest jazz venues in the country. We visited the WWII museum, which was astonishing, and we also took a jazz dinner cruise on the Mississippi River. We were able to see many live musicians performing at various locations, and our students actually sat in and played with some of them. The students were able to hear professional musicians from all over the world, as well as immerse themselves in the food and culture of New Orleans. The trip was truly inspirational.”