Zullo Gallery to Welcome Home Medfield High School Jazz Band

The community will have a chance to congratulate the Medfield High School Jazz Ensemble and listen to the wonderful sounds of the band at the Zullo Gallery at 7:30 p.m. on March 2.

The Zullo Gallery will showcase the band, coming off another trip to New York City to compete in the Charles Mingus Big Band High School Competition, where they competed against Lexington High School, The Rivers School in Weston and the Manhattan School of Music on Sunday, Feb. 19.

"[While] the band did not take home first place again this year from [Feb. 19] Mingus competition, but senior saxophonist Paul Wagenseller did receive an outstanding soloist award," said Medfield resident Christine McCue.

The MHS Jazz Ensemble I took home first place in the 2011 competition.

The Zullo performance will feature members of the MHS jazz band performing in small, improvisational ensembles. Wagenseller, who took home a Mingus outstanding soloist award, will be among the groups.

The Medfield community is invited to stop into the Zullo Gallery to congratulate the jazz band for placing in this year’s Mingus competition once again, and seizing the chance to hear jazz band members play in a small, intimate setting.

Admission is an optional donation to the Zullo Gallery, with a suggested amount of $7 per person at the door.

The band participated in the entire Charles Mingus Festival weekend from Feb. 17-20, which included workshops and clinics.

Charles Mingus, founded the Jazz Workshop that exposed young composers to audiences and was a jazz composer in the 1940s and 50s. Medfield's Jazz Band competed against Lexington and Wellesley High Schools in New York last February and was led by Music Director Doug Olsen. 

Olsen, a Mingus fan, played in a Mingus tribute band for seven years and was happy to share his passion for jazz with his students.

Share your photos of the Medfield High School Jazz Band and from the Charles Mingus competition in the gallery above!