Students Picked for Grammy Band, Choir

As part of the Grammy Los Angeles All-Star High School Jazz Band and Choir, Sam Sadigursky and Tyler Azelton helped dazzle about 500 parents, friends and teachers at Cal State Northridge on Tuesday.

When all was said and done, the two teens learned that was just a warmup before they help Jon Secada, among other stars, dazzle the folks at the Grammy Awards nomination party and attend the awards ceremony Feb. 28.

After their performances, the two were chosen for the Grammy All-American High School Jazz Band and Choir, comprising high school musicians and singers from 26 other Grammy bands and choirs nationwide, said David Sears, senior project manager for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization that conducts the Grammy Awards and sponsors the high school music competitions.

The All-American jazz band and choir will perform several times in Los Angeles the week of the Grammy Awards, including recording a compact disc and playing at a dinner honoring music producer Quincy Jones.

At Northridge, rowdy crowds from the two winners’ schools cheered as the announcements were made.

Sadigursky, 16, a junior tenor saxophone player at Agoura High School, was chosen from the 20-member Los Angeles-area jazz ensemble, while Azelton, a 17-year-old senior tenor with Hamilton High School’s choir in Los Angeles, was selected from among the 16-member choir.

“I feel fortunate,” said Azelton, almost speechless after hearing the announcements. “Everybody else practices as much as you.”

Sadigursky said, “I’m pretty elated,” adding that numerous Saturdays spent rehearsing seem to have paid off.

Sears said the yearly winners of the Grammy high school competition are of professional caliber.

“They are obviously two of the best in the country,” he said of the Los Angeles-area winners.