Medfield High's Jazz Band Leaves Thursday for NYC Competition

With their bags and instruments packed, the Medfield High School Jazz Band is headed back to New York City for the second time this school year.

On Thursday, the Jazz Band leaves for the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival in New York City. Medfield is one of 15 finalist bands from around the country to participate in this prestigious competition.

Medfield will perform on Saturday at 3:20 p.m. at Lincoln Center and will be streamed live through the Jazz at Lincoln Center webcast at http://www.jalc.org/ee2012  (link to be live on Saturday). Log on to Medfield Patch Saturday to watch the band perform live.

“Getting into Ellington has been a four-year goal and I cannot wait to see what it will actually be like,” said Grace Murray, a Medfield self-proclaimed "trumpet geek." “Since freshman year I’ve kind of heard this one legendary word ‘Ellington’ over and over and it means a lot of things when you’re in the Medfield Jazz program.” 

Medfield previously participated in this competition in 2005 and 2008.

“It’s a great and unique opportunity for them to be around other extremely talented high school musicians; they’ll be interacting with the next jazz generation,” said Douglas Olsen, Medfield’s Director of Music Education. 

“It’s also extremely difficult because we’re going up against the best that the nation and North America has to offer in music,” he said – noting the competition will include standard high schools with 4,000 to 5,000 students, private music academies, and magnet schools such as a Julliard feeder school.

Success Starts at the Top

Much of the success of the Medfield music department is accredited to Olsen but Olsen said it starts at the top and works its way down.

“It starts with the administration,” Olsen said.  “[Superintendent] Bob Maguire and the principals have always supported music and feel that a well-rounded education academically, athletically and in the arts, is such a huge positive for students.”

“It’s amazing that a small district like this can compete consistently on a national level. It says so much about all the different facets that go into the program,” he said.

Olsen also credits his “great music staff from Kindergarten up to grade 12” and parental and community support, namely the Medfield Music Association, as vital to the success of the program.

He said his goal is to give Medfield students the best possible music experience possible.

Molding Medfield Musicians

Paul Wagenseller, a senior who plays tenor saxophone in the jazz band, has had that experience, and he says it all started in fifth grade with a desire to imitate a cartoon character.

“I began clarinet in fifth grade because, and I have no shame for this, I wanted to be like Squidward from the television show ‘Spongebob Squarepants,'” Wagenseller said. “I loved it and stuck with it and then began playing tenor saxophone in seventh grade for jazz band.”

Wagenseller and other band members (including Murray and Rosenfeld) have said that some of their best high school memories are from performances and trips taken with the band. 

“Jazz night in particular tends to generate a great deal of excitement as well as musical moments that I'll never forget," Wagenseller said. "Likewise, there is a music department trip every other year. My sophomore year trip to Canada was one of the single greatest experiences of my life. The camaraderie between everyone in the band, chorus and orchestra expanded infinitely, and friendships blossomed and grew. Not only that, but we also played a great concert.”

Wagenseller said the Medfield music experience is unique in that every student plays an important role and no part is insignificant, and Olsen makes sure that happens.

“I have so much respect for that man,” Wagenseller said of Olsen. “He is one of the greatest trumpet players I've ever heard, for one. He is talented and dedicated. It is very clear that he loves his job and takes it seriously … but his true strength is his passion. It's infectious.”

And it infected Murray.

Murray started on the trumpet in fifth grade and added the trombone in seventh grade. She has also served in leadership positions such as section leader and drum major (along with her twin sister Andrea who plays baritone saxophone). 

“We’ve both gotten so much out of it … it’s really given me something to be passionate about,” said Murray.

Luke Rosenfeld, senior piano player in the jazz band, who also plays percussion in the concert band and has also been a drum major, is also passionate about the music program.

He said the Medfield music experience is unique because Olsen inspires a desire to practice and fulfill the students' potential.

“Mr. Olsen is inspiring and demands complete focus and participation from all students in the music community. He is an engaging, helpful, and brilliant music teacher. His efforts to improve the groups day by day have led Medfield to have one of the best music departments in the country,” said Rosenfeld.

Family and Community

Another important aspect of the music program, and band in particular, is the sense of family.

“The type of people who are in the band, this year especially, are just kind connection as a family.  I feel like people are really trying to reach out to each other; there are always friendly faces in the band room,” Murray said. “Mr. Olsen may seem pretty intimidating to a lot of students … when rehearsal gets intense it gets intense, but he’s always made sure that everyone knows that the band room is somewhere you go if you need a safe place."

Just as there is a sense of family in the band room, there is a sense of community support outside the school walls, particularly in the last few months when the jazz band was able to quickly raise the $12,000 needed to send the band to Ellington.

“The fundraising went amazingly well; we’ve had a huge community response,” said Olsen.

Words of Advice

When asked what words of advice she would give young music students making their way through the Medfield schools, Murray said “Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse; hard work pays off.”

“If you really find that passion, you will succeed … Mr. Olsen has also shown us that. Every day he pushes us harder than we think we can go and he demands hard work and I hope we’ve given it to him. I think we have and I hope it pays off [this] weekend,” she said.

Note: Olsen is a professional trumpet player with the Doug Olsen Jazz Group, which will perform on June 8 at the Zullo Gallery.