By Doug Petrowski

Although a 4 a.m. cross-country flight may sound dreadful to some, it was music to the ears of Mountlake Terrace High School Jazz 1 members, for it’s the flight that was taking them to New York for the 2012 Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival this weekend.

Band members left early Thursday morning for the prestigious three-day event at Lincoln Center. They are one of just 15 high school bands from across the country participating in performances, workshops and jam sessions at the festival. The top three bands judged over the weekend will perform at the final Concert and Awards Ceremony Sunday evening (4:30 p.m. PST) with jazz performer Wynton Marsalis.

This is the 17th year that Lincoln Center has hosted Essentially Ellington; Mountlake Terrace has been invited five times previously to the event.

Following some rehearsal opportunities on Friday and Saturday, Mountlake Terrace Jazz 1 will take to the competition stage Sunday morning at approximately 10:10 PST. The festival offers a live webcast of all performances at jalc.org/ee2012.

Jazz 1 members will also have opportunities for other activities while in New York. Plans are for the students to visit the Natural History Museum and the 911 Memorial Museum and see the Broadway show “Memphis.”