In addition to the Competition & Festival in New York City each May, Essentially Ellington, Jazz at Lincoln Center co-produces non-competitive, education-focused festivals designed to offer high school jazz bands of all levels the opportunity to perform the music of Duke Ellington and other seminal big band composers and arrangers at various locations across the country. 

Jazz St. Louis is proud to partner with Jazz at Lincoln Center to bring its internationally-acclaimed Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Festival to St. Louis. This free, one-day festival features an all-star lineup of clinicians. In addition to performance and written comments, participating bands receive a workshop from one of the festival clinicians, instrument/section-specific master classes, and performance from the University of Missouri St. Louis Jazz Band featuring the festival clinicians.

In the spirit of Essentially Ellington, all bands will need to perform at least one tune from the EE library. Click HERE for a full list of free charts.