Today, Jazz at Lincoln Center announced the top 20 high school jazz bands selected to compete in the annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival. Bringing the country’s best high school jazz musicians to New York City, the event will be held on April 30–May 2, 2026, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, located at Broadway and 60th Street.
Now in its 31st year, Essentially Ellington is a high school jazz education program that has shaped thousands of young musicians, band directors, and educators while fostering a vibrant, worldwide community dedicated to the music and legacy of Duke Ellington.
The three-day 2026 Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival will feature educational activities and big band competitions, culminating in a final concert and awards ceremony that celebrates the next generation of jazz artists.
The 2026 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Finalists are:
Agoura High School (Agoura Hills, CA)
Directed by Robert Hackett
Alexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles, CA)
Directed by Philip Topping
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts (West Palm Beach, FL)
Directed by Christopher De León
Beloit Memorial High School (Beloit, WI)
Directed by Chris Behrens
Bothell High School (Bothell, WA)
Directed by Zane Romanek
Byron Center High School (Byron Center, MI)
Directed by Marc Townley
Carroll Senior High School (Southlake, TX)
Directed by David Lown
Esperanza High School (Anaheim, CA)
Directed by Bradley Davis
Jazz Houston (Houston, TX)
Directed by David Caceres
McKinney North High School (McKinney, TX)
Directed by Connor Vaughn
Mountlake Terrace High School (Mountlake Terrace, WA)
Directed by Darin Faul
Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana, CA)
Directed by John Reynolds
Osceola County School for the Arts (Kissimmee, FL)
Directed by Jason Anderson
Shorewood High School (Shoreline, WA)
Directed by Dan Baker
Susan Wagner High School (Staten Island, NY)
Directed by Paul Corn
Tarpon Springs High School (Tarpon Springs, FL)
Directed by Dr. Tim Sexton and Chris Faison
Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble (Raleigh, NC)
Directed by Gregg Gelb
William H. Hall High School (West Hartford, CT)
Directed by Phil Giampietro
Young Lions Jazz Conservatory (San Diego, CA)
Directed by Gilbert Castellanos
Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (Wheaton, IL)
Directed by Robert Blazek
These finalists were selected from 119 schools that submitted recordings of select tunes from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s R. Theodore Ammon Archives and Music Library. Musicians Steve Fidyk, Joseph Jefferson, Mariel Bildsten, and Diego Rivera served as application screeners.
In addition to highlighting the top high school jazz bands, the festival will recognize the winner of the 14th Annual Essentially Ellington Dr. J. Douglas White Student Composition and Arranging Contest. The 2026 winner is Quinn Knox from William H. Hall High School in West Hartford, CT. Knox will receive a $1,000 cash prize and the winning composition, entitled “The Sepulcrum,” will be recorded by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The prize also includes a trip to the 2026 Competition & Festival for a composition lesson with Grammy Award-winning artist Ted Nash.
The annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival brings musicians from around the world to Jazz at Lincoln Center to spend several days immersed in workshops, jam sessions, rehearsals and performances.
The top-placing bands will be chosen by several judging panels comprising distinguished jazz musicians and historians, to be announced.
One of the most innovative education events in the world, the Essentially Ellington program and resources for students and band directors are free of charge and aim to elevate musicianship, broaden perspectives, and inspire performance through the music of jazz icon Duke Ellington.
The program aims to promote appreciation for jazz music and American vernacular music and has served as a major talent incubator for many alumni who have gone on to form a new generation of professional musicians band directors, and industry figures including Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra musicians Carlos Henriquez, Obed Calvaire, Alexa Tarantino, Chris Lewis, Abdias Armenteros, GRAMMY Award winner Samara Joy, Saturday Night Live band member Summer Camargo, and renowned musicians Aaron Diehl, Tatum Greenblatt, Riley Mulherkar, Philip Norris, among many more.
Essentially Ellington Festival events, including the final concert featuring the top-placing bands and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, will stream live on jazzlive.com. Tickets will be available for purchase in the coming months. For more information, visit jazz.org/ee.
Since its inception in 1987, Jazz at Lincoln Center has produced an extensive range of jazz educational and advocacy programs for all ages. For the 31st year, the organization’s Essentially Ellington program spreads the message of Duke Ellington’s music, leadership, and collective orientation, providing high school ensembles with free transcriptions of original Duke Ellington recordings – accompanied by rehearsal guides, original recordings, professional instruction, and more – to thousands of schools and community bands in 58 countries. More than 7,000 high school bands have benefitted from free charts and resources. The multi-day festival provides students access to workshops, jam sessions, rehearsals, and performances.
Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly acknowledges its 2025-26 season partners:
Bloomberg Philanthropies, United Airlines, and Hive & Colony
A very special thanks to Jody and John Arnhold for their extraordinary support of Jazz at Lincoln Center
and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
We proudly recognize leadership support from Dalio Philanthropies; Joseph DiMenna; Ford Foundation; Angela and Robert Kissane; Mellody Hobson and George Lucas; Michele and Mark Mandel; and the Zou Family Fund.
Major support is provided by the Abrams Foundation; Charina Endowment Fund; Howard Gilman Foundation, Inc.; Manitou Fund; the Ambrose Monell Foundation; the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; Lisa and David Schiff;
Seedlings Foundation; and an Anonymous donor.
Generous support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Artists, schedules, and venues are subject to change.
Press Inquiries:
Zooey Tidal Jones
Senior Director, Public Relations & External Communications
Jazz at Lincoln Center
[email protected]
212-258-9821