On Saturday April 16th, the Delphian School Jazz Choir went to Pleasant Hill to participate in thePleasant Hill Jazz Festival.This is the largest school jazz festival in the state and one of the largest in the Pacific Northwest. Jazz bands and choirs from twenty-five high schools and fifteen middle schools from as far away as Idaho participate. Students attend clinics, watch the other groups perform, and are treated to a concert by a professional musician or group.
The choir performed very well at the preliminaries. The judges praised their energy and overall musicianship. Their director was very proud of them, as the group really stepped up and gave their best possible performance. At the close of the concert, 3rd Place winners were announced as well as the top two schools in each division. Delphian competes in the division where the choir members have individual microphones and high school enrollment of roughly 1000 students or less. Delphian was announced as a finalist in their division, along with Silverton, a 5A school near Silver Falls.
At the finals the choir was required to perform a new song. The choir performed “Trashin’ the Camp.” Tenor Cristian Vargas stepped up to do some beat-boxing to add a little spice to the song. The group also performed “Stolen Moments” a jazz classic that featured solos from many of the choir members.
Finally the trophies were announced and Delphian was awarded 2nd Place. The choir overall was pleased to have made it that far in the competition with an inexperienced group against much larger schools.
The Delphian School 