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Students 'Proud' Of Performances At Essentially Ellington Festival

The Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival in New York City wrapped up over the weekend. There were 15 bands from across the country competing, and festival director Wynton Marsalis explained that meant the pressure was on.

 

"Because there's so much love, there's so much energy and pain that goes into playing in these ensembles, and so much rehearsing early in the morning and late at night," Marsalis said. "And now you're on stage and you're nervous and you're trying to do the best you can do."

 

Three bands from Western Washington high schools made the finals this year: Mount Si, Mountlake Terrace and Edmonds-Woodway. And while none of those schools placed in the top three, Mount Si senior Greta Chappell says playing on the stage in Rose Hall meant more than winning top prize.

A complete list of all the awards handed out at the ceremony is here.

Mount Si High School performs "Rocks in my Bed"

mount_si_-_rocks_in_my_bed.mp3

Mountlake Terrace High School performs "Stay on It"

mountlake_terrace_-_stay_on_it.mp3

Edmonds-Woodway High School performs "It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing"

edmonds_woodway_-_it_don_t_mean_a_thing_if_it_ain_t_got_that_swing.mp3

You can find other stories from the Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival here.

Ariel first entered a public radio newsroom in 2004 while in school at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. It was love at first sight. After graduating from Bradley, she went on to earn a Master's degree in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield. Ariel has lived in Indiana, Ohio and Alaska reporting on everything from salmon spawning to policy issues concerning education. She's been a host, a manager and now rides shotgun with Kirsten Kendrick as the Morning Edition producer at KNKX.