By Maggie Bunzel
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The upper school Jazz Concert, held in Rugby Auditorium on Dec. 4, featured an ensemble of musicians performing famous jazz pieces.
Led by performing arts instructor Shawn Costantino, the ensemble played four pieces for the concert, “Beat It,” “Blues for the Monarch,” “Getting Good News” and “September.”
There are 17 students in the ensemble. All of the sophomores had to audition in June of last year to determine which ensemble they would be placed in. The jazz ensemble consists of a variety of instruments such as drums, guitar, trumpet, bass, piano and saxophone.
“Weâve been preparing for the concert I suppose since we got the first piece. I believe we got it in mid-September,” Connor Basich â13, a trumpet and clarinet player in the ensemble, said.
In class meetings they performed a short piece as a teaser for last Saturdayâs concert. There was no direct theme for the concert, just mixed pieces from various artists.
“[Costantino] decided to do a Michael Jackson song for each band, which is the closest it got to being themed,” Basich said.
The concert featured the jazz band with smaller groups, which played shorter songs.
“Jazz is a great class. Itâs low stress, we have a lot of fun, and Mr. Costantino is very lax. Itâs an awesome class for anyone interested in music, and I would suggest people to audition for it,” Basich said.