Local Jazz Musicians were crowned Grand Champions this past weekend. Fond du Lac High School Jazz I recently won the Mundelein Invitation Jazz Festival in Mundelein Illinois this past weekend. The band competed against 15 other bands from across the midwest. “The group was recognized because they simply played as a cohesive, swinging unit. It is about everyone making contributions and reacting to each other so that everything sounds great, and they did that.” said Matt McVeigh, band director at Fond du Lac High School. The ensemble is made up of 19 high school students, includings Ben Stoffel-Murray, Julia Westenberg, Claire Gerner, Kaitlyn Wehner, Michael Stensland, and Sydney Sebert on Saxophone; Kassidy Freund, Emily Jacobson, and Megan Manthey on trombone; Alex Holland, Conor Mitchell, Alex Strysick, Emmit Kuphal, and Ethan Hill on trumpet; and a rhythm section made up of Jake O’Donnell on piano, Emeric Meilhon on guitar, Maddy Cornils on Bass, and Abe Stoffel-Murray and Josh Guy on drums. In addition to the group honor several students were recognized as outstanding musicians including Stoffel-Murray- alto saxophone, Freund- trombone, Guy-drums, and Strysick- trumpet.
