Bellevue jazz ensembles win festival honors

The Bellevue High School Jazz 1 emsemble. - Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
The Bellevue High School Jazz 1 emsemble.

January 16, 2013 · Updated 4:07 PM 

 

Three Bellevue School District jazz ensembles earned Gold at the recent Riverside Jazz Festival in Auburn.

Earning the Gold Award among middle schools was Odle Middle School Jazz Band I, led by Barry Roberts. High school school jazz ensembles receiving the Gold Award include Bellevue High School Jazz Ensemble I, led by Edd George, and Sammamish High School's Jazz Ensemble, led by Mark Wilbert.

Named as Festival Outstanding Soloists were Bellevue High School Jazz Ensemble I performers Bryan Oh on clarinet, Melvin Soetrisno on piano, and Olivia Tsang on bass trombone, as well as Sammamish High School's Ben Acone on piano and Chris Shin on clarinet.

Winston Zhang on tenor sax from Chinook Middle School, led by Todd Mahaffey, also was named Outstanding Soloist.

Kevin Chen from the International School, led by Andy Rubesch, was recognized for his original composition U.F.O. (Unusually Funky Orchestra).

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