Shawano Community High School’s Jazz I Band is back on top of the Purdue Jazz Festival, getting first place for the first time since 2020.
The school’s jazz program regularly impresses at jazz festivals in the Midwest, and it had been tops at Purdue for several years consecutively before the pandemic, so returning to the top spot, beating 15 other bands in the process, is particularly gratifying for band director Christopher Kent.
“Purdue is extremely competitive,” Kent said. “We’ve placed every year we’ve been there, but we haven’t won since 2020.”
The win is quite the feather in the school’s cap, considering Kent lost almost three-fourths of his main band to graduation. He had six students who’d been to Purdue and knew what was expected in such a competitive environment working to drill that mentality into a group of first-time performers.
“Fourteen seniors graduated out of this band last year,” Kent said. “This included my entire rhythm section and basically my entire trumpet section. We went down there, and I wasn’t sure how things were going to go, and the kids really, they basically decided they were going to have fun.”
Kent added that the fun involved not letting nerves overtake them and just have a good time, win or lose.
“They do take this very seriously,” Kent said. “The judges could see the joy. They were smiling. They were having fun with each other.”
The news of Shawano’s big win did not hit until the band was passing by Bonduel en route to home, according to Kent, as the band did not stay for the end of the festival due to the eight-hour commute back. He noted that normally the wins are usually close within one point of the first- and second-place bands, but this year, eight points separated SCHS from its nearest competitor.
“That’s how big of a difference there was this year,” Kent said. “That means something.”
Besides the band winning as a group, Ireland Setterman was recognized as one of two outstanding soloists.
Also, the Jazz II Band, which is mostly freshmen and sophomores, finished ninth at the festival but was recognized with the outstanding saxophone section honor. Kent noted most of the students in the Jazz II band were on their first competition at Purdue.
“One of the judge’s comments for the second band was, ‘They sound like a family,’” he said. “To me, it’s maybe the best comment you can get. That’s how I run my classes.”
Kent added he was in the military for 10 years, and military is family for most.
“They help each other. They support each other,” Kent said. “They also hold each other accountable.”
The jazz bands have one more festival coming up March 1 at Rolling Meadows before hosting its own festival March 8 with 21 confirmed bands attending. Kent noted that three of the bands are directed by SCHS alumni.
For those who want to see the jazz bands in action locally, they will be performing two shows, Feb. 20 and March 13, at Stubborn Brothers Brewery, 220 S. Main St., Shawano. Both shows start at 7 p.m. and last about an hour.
“That’s been a wonderful experience for the kids,” Kent said. “It’s such a cool place to play.”
The shows at Stubborn Brothers have helped the jazz bands financially by covering a lot of the cost to attend festivals like Purdue and Rolling Meadows, including accommodations and meals.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
SCHS jazz band wins Purdue festival
