Elkhorn Valley Music Groups Compete at NECC Jazz Festival

Middle and high school student musicians competed for top honors at the 36th Annual Northeast Community College Jazz Festival in the Cox Activities Center on the Northeast campus in Norfolk on March 26 and 27.
The two-day event drew 83 musical groups from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and South Dakota with over 2,000 students performing. The competition hosted jazz bands and show/jazz choirs for schools in four levels. Twenty trophies were presented at the end of each competition day for first, second, third, and fourth place and solo and instrumental awards.
Elkhorn Valley High School’s Jazz Band and Show Choir both earned “Excellent” (II) Ratings at the festival.
Margaret Schultz, music instructor and accompanist at Northeast, said the Jazz Festival helps students develop as musicians and shows them what other schools are doing.
“It gives them a valuable educational opportunity to perform in front of other students and they look forward to competing again the next year. Pride is visible in these students when they perform. Our Northeast students help work the festival and the Jazz Festival participants find out that they don’t have to be a music major at Northeast to participate in all the musical groups we have here on campus.”
The event is sponsored by the Northeast Community College music department and the Norfolk Area Jazz Ensemble (NAJE). NAJE uses the proceeds to support student musicians with scholarships and to promote music activities at the college.