Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds-Woodway HS jazz bands selected for Essentially Ellington

The MTHS Jazz Band performs in 2015. (File photo by Doug Petrowski)

Much has been said about the quality of Edmonds School District music programs, and now here’s proof: The jazz bands from Edmonds-Woodway and Mountlake Terrace high schools are headed to the Essentially Ellington competition and festival May 11-13 in New York City, our online news partner The Seattle Times reported Wednesday.

The two district high schools will join Mount Si in performing at the 22nd annual Essentially Ellington competition. Missing from the list are competition stalwarts and former winners Roosevelt and Garfield, who have made regular appearances every year since 1999, when the event was opened to schools west of the Mississippi, The Times noted. This year marks Edmonds-Woodway’s fifth year, Mount Si’s fourth year and Mountlake Terrace’s seventh year of participation.

The 15 finalists were chosen from nearly 100 contestants across North America. On the weekend of May 11-13, the bands will rehearse, perform and take part in workshops at Jazz at Lincoln Center. On May 13, the top three bands will be named at the conclusion of the festival.

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