Jazz band is launching their audition process earlier than usual this year, with preparation for the school’s second Winter Extravaganza in mind. Students will begin auditioning for the ensemble in the middle of the week during class.

The audition process is modeled after All-Region auditions scheduled in the coming weeks, something Tyler Elvidge, one of two jazz band directors, views as helpful to students’ preparation.

“The music they’re auditioning over this year is the same music that the students auditioning at region jazz, and we’re going to audition over the audition this week in class over just one of the tunes instead of over everything,” Elvidge said. “The actual region jazz audition, they audition ever multiple Etudes. There’s also an improvisation part of the audition process to where they have to make up as they go along.”

Jazz band director Zachary Anderson explains that the audition process for students has been months in the making.

“Students elect to audition for this process in May and begin the training process for the competition during the summer,” associate director of bands Zach Anderson said. “Students will participate in Phase one, all-region, and a select number will advance to the area round to record for state.”

While jazz band is not a class, the program comes with its own unique experiences.

“Being in that that jazz program, students get a little bit more of that musical background and style and opportunity to play,” Elvidge said. “A lot of our students in the top performing jazz group also gave a real experience playing musical gigs. We’ve had in the past the top guys been going perform at coffee shops, and most recently Legacy Hall, which was really cool opportunity for the students.”