The Medfield High School Jazz Band has received an invitation to the Charles Mingus Competition in New York.

On Monday, Music Director Doug Olsen requested permission to travel out-of-state to go to the competition.

The committee quickly approved the trip, allowing Olsen to start setting up plans for the trip. During his proposal to the committee, Olsen explained the only expenses for the trip would be the travel into the New York.

“We just need to get the kids there,” Olsen said. “Then they spend the day with world famous musicians and the next day is the competition.”

More specifically, the Saturday portion will include a day full of clinics and workshops at the Manhattan School of Music, including master classes for instruments and sections, as well as lectures, films and clinics.

And Sunday is competition day, featuring the top 12 big bands and combo’s from around the country.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer/educator Gunther Schuller said this of the competition on the web site for competition.

“You are guaranteed a great and profound experience when you perform music by this giant of jazz composition.”

More information about the competition can be found here.

The trip is planned to be a two-day trip on Feb. 19th and 20th, and Mingus’ wife, Sue, is one of the organizers. Olsen spoke with her on the phone within the past few days.

“That was a gas.”

Medfield Superintendent of Schools Robert Maguire said Medfield High School has one of the top three Jazz Bands in North America. With the program ranking among the elite, Maguire understands what it means to have music taught in schools.

“These kind of programs are very important,” Maguire said.