State Champions! - Glenwood Jazz Band Strikes Gold At Iowa Jazz Championships

The Glenwood Jazz Band program enjoyed its finest hour last Tuesday - striking gold at the Iowa Jazz Championships.

Turning in what director Paul Hart called the “best performance of the year,” Glenwood came home from Ames with the school’s first Iowa Jazz Championships state title. Glenwood’s varsity Gold Band took top honors in the Class 3A competition over runner-up MOC-Floyd Valley, third-place Marion and a dozen other talented bands, including perennial western Iowa powers Denison and Harlan.

“It was awesome,” said Hart. ‘Everything that can go right went right. “When we walked out of there, it was our best show and that’s all you can do is put yourself in a situation where you did your best.

“We were just very blessed that day to have things go our way. I think we earned it and I feel like we deserved it. I think we earned a lot of people’s respect that day.”

Hart noted that judges score bands at the IJC in thrree major areas – ensemble (30 points), soloists (30 points) and rhythm (30 points). Bands can also earn 10 discretionary points (for appearance, song selection, etc.). Glenwood shined in all three of the major areas.

“I’ve been equating to people who don’t know band, it’s like a football team,” he said.  “If you’re firing on all three phases – special teams, defense and offense – it’s hard to beat a team that has all of those covered. What we did, there wasn’t a drop on one of those areas (ensmble, soloists, rhythm). We were pretty solid in all those areas which I think is why we ended up coming out on top that day.”
Glenwood’s performance was at 1:15 p.m., but the awards presentation didn’t take place until five hours later, but Hart suspected Glenwood would place high in the standings.

“There would be bands with an amazing soloist, but maybe their rhythm section wasn’t quite as good. Or, there would be a band with an incredible ensemble, but their soloists were pretty weak,” he said.
Results of the contest are announced in ascending order, meaning the first place bands were the last to hear their names called in each class.

The tension was building for the Glenwood musicians as the 3A results were announced. Prior to last week, Glenwood’s highest finish at IJC was third place.

“They just keep naming names and you just pray they don’t call your name. Some of the kids didn’t understand the process of it so they were upset, they didn’t understand you don’t want them to call your name,” said Hart. “Once I heard third place and it wasn’t us, it was like we just did something we’ve never done before. At that point, I would have been ecstatic with second place because every band there is really good.”

Glenwood Gold played a trio of diverse songs during their performance at IJC – “The Commissioner,” “Tico Tico” and “There’s A New Dog In Town.” The music Hart selected showcased the strengths of the band and featured solos from multiple musicians.

Clarinet and bass player Maggie Smith was selected as one of four Class 3A Outstanding Performers and five members of the band were recognized with Solo Awards - Smith (clarinet), Connor Heino (trombone), Finn Hunt (trombone) , Caleb Kauffman (piano) and Josh Fichter (alto sax).

Hart credited the band’s championship performance to the work and dedication of his students. The jazz practice season starts in late October and competitions begin in January.

“The kids worked really hard this year. We did a lot – we had early-morning rehearsals,” he said.  “We have a thing called RamsTime where kids kind of get to choose where they want to go in the school – they can play dodge ball or they can play whatever – but lots of kids would choose to come to the band room to practice some stuff.”

Hart noted the band had some extra motivation going into this year’s jazz season.

“Last year was the first time in 20 years, the band didn’t qualify for the Iowa Jazz Championships,” he said. “It was my first year here, so that was not the most fun thing to go through.

“Dan Schoening, who was the previous teacher, developed an amazing program and my goal was to keep us there. I think the kids were not happy with that result and I think it served to really motivate them to work hard. They had a goal and they achieved that goal.”

The IJC was the third for Hart. He directed Tri-Center to a pair of Class 1A state titles before coming to Glenwood.

Hart said he’s appreciative of the support the jazz band and instrumental music program receives from the community and school district administration, calling it “a really special thing.” He added that fellow instrumental music instructors David Clark and

Elsa Griffen deserve much of the credit for the success of the jazz and instrumental music programs, noting the three have an excellent working relationship with one another. Having three instructors has allowed more time to be dedicated to younger bands, which leads to greater success at the high school level. He added that the future of the Glenwood Jazz program is bright.

“The kids are really motivated to keep this going,” he said. “I’m just so happy for the kids. It was a great experience and hopefully we can do it again.”