Festival Crowd Is Really Jazzed

Embellishing their songs with dance steps and enthusiastic clapping, members of the Ramona High School Encore choir drew cheers and hearty applause Friday at Fullerton College’s 24th annual Jazz Festival.

“I love it!” exclaimed Mandy Greer, 17, after the San Diego group exited the stage. “This is the biggest and toughest competition.”

Encore was one of more than 100 junior high and high school vocal groups at the festival, which continues today with 77 high school and college bands competing. More than 6,000 students from California, Nevada, Utah, Washington, Oregon and Arizona are participating.

Fullerton College’s dean of fine arts, Terry J. Blackley, is credited with organizing the festival, which also includes workshops conducted by professional musicians.

“Being America’s original art form, jazz is something that I feel is very important in a student’s education,” Blackley said. “Music is an essential part of our being.”

In an era of shrinking budgets for arts programs, the festival has taken on increased significance, participants said.

“We’ve lost 50% of all the music programs in California schools in the last 10 years,” said Bob Keller, band director at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego. “That’s scary because without culture we don’t have a society.”

Being part of that culture comes at a cost, requiring dedication and discipline. Randell Welch, 17, of Mt. Eden High School’s show choir in Hayward said his group practiced five hours a day for months to prepare for the festival.

But “it’s a great experience,” Welch said. “We learn so much about music and serious dedication and how to work together.”

The instrumental portion of the competition is today. The festival is open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the college, 321 E. Chapman Ave. Admission is free.