HOMESTEAD JAZZ BANDS
The jazz program at Homestead expanded in 2015 with the addition of a second jazz ensemble to compliment Jazz 1. Both ensembles began performing at jazz festivals in 2018, and a third jazz ensemble was added in 2021. All jazz ensembles at Homestead are co-curricular and have corresponding combos.
The Homestead Jazz Ensemble 1 has earned top honor band recognition at local and state jazz festivals and has advanced to the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) State Jazz Finals six times since the event's inception in 2016. The band advanced most recently in 2025 for their fourth consecutive appearance, where they received the Outstanding Rhythm Section Award and Outstanding Rhythm Section Soloist awards in Indiana. Homestead Jazz Ensemble 1 also performs annually at the Ball State University Larry McWilliams Dimensions in Jazz Festival and the Purdue University Jazz Festival where they have earned top honor band recognition in recent years. In 2022 the band performed at the Indiana Music Educators Association (IMEA) Professional Development State Conference as a featured ensemble.
Through the years, the Fort Wayne area high school jazz festivals have brought in guest artists, clinicians, jazz educators, and featured performances from such jazz legends as the Buddy Rich Big Band, Stan Kenton Orchestra, Louie Bellson, Woody Herman and His Thundering Herd, and The Count Basie Orchestra, to Denis DeBlasio, Byron Stripling, Mike Tomaro, Bobby Shew, Wayne Bergeron, and Antonio Garcia, to Indiana local jazz musicians such as Larry McWilliams, Mark Buselli, Tom Walsh, and Matt Pivec. The students in our community have developed great appreciation and respect for this important genre of music because of performances in their outstanding high school jazz ensembles and with these outstanding jazz musicians.
The Homestead Jazz Ensemble 1 has earned top honor band recognition at local and state jazz festivals and has advanced to the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) State Jazz Finals six times since the event's inception in 2016. The band advanced most recently in 2025 for their fourth consecutive appearance, where they received the Outstanding Rhythm Section Award and Outstanding Rhythm Section Soloist awards in Indiana. Homestead Jazz Ensemble 1 also performs annually at the Ball State University Larry McWilliams Dimensions in Jazz Festival and the Purdue University Jazz Festival where they have earned top honor band recognition in recent years. In 2022 the band performed at the Indiana Music Educators Association (IMEA) Professional Development State Conference as a featured ensemble.
Through the years, the Fort Wayne area high school jazz festivals have brought in guest artists, clinicians, jazz educators, and featured performances from such jazz legends as the Buddy Rich Big Band, Stan Kenton Orchestra, Louie Bellson, Woody Herman and His Thundering Herd, and The Count Basie Orchestra, to Denis DeBlasio, Byron Stripling, Mike Tomaro, Bobby Shew, Wayne Bergeron, and Antonio Garcia, to Indiana local jazz musicians such as Larry McWilliams, Mark Buselli, Tom Walsh, and Matt Pivec. The students in our community have developed great appreciation and respect for this important genre of music because of performances in their outstanding high school jazz ensembles and with these outstanding jazz musicians.
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