Saxophonist Owen J. Broder, 17, is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts, and was a 2007 North Carolina Symphony Concerto Competition finalist on alto saxophone. In his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, Owen won the 2006 Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition on clarinet. He was the lead alto saxophonist and solo clarinetist in the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Jazz Ensemble 1, which was the winning big band at the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2006 Essentially Ellington competition in New York, and, in that same year, Owen was a recipient of the Woody Herman Jazz Award at DASOTA. Mr. Broder has also attended the Interlochen Arts Academy where he was named Outstanding Saxophonist in his division in 2003 and 2004. Additionally, Owen won a spot to the 2007 Vail Jazz Workshop, and will be performing at North Carolina’s Manteo Music Festival. 2008 is the second year Owen has been selected to the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.

Pianist Emmet Cohen, 18, is a graduate of Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey, where he played in the Premier Jazz Combo, winning a DownBeat Magazine Outstanding Performance Award in 2007. A student of classical piano since age three, Emmet won a Dade County (Fla.) First Prize plaque at age six while studying classical music at a youth program at the University of Miami. At age ten, Emmet moved to New Jersey, and was accepted at Manhattan School of Music’s Precollege Division, where he studied classical piano for seven years under Peter Vinograde. Emmet started playing jazz in 2005 while attending Connecticut’s Litchfield Jazz Camp, and by 2007, he was one of four pianists selected to participate in the Jazz in July Master Class at New York City’s 92nd Street Y, hosted by Bill Charlap and Ted Rosenthal. In 2008, he earned a DownBeat Award as a soloist, and was selected for the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Combo, Music for All’s Jazz Band of America and the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, and received a National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts youngARTS Honorable Mention. He is also a current recipient of the New Jersey Governor’s School of the Arts Award, and will attend the University of Miami in the fall.

Trombonist Natalie Cressman, 17, will be a senior at School of the Arts (SOTA) in San Francisco in the fall of 2008. She is currently a member of the SFJAZZ High School All-stars Ensemble, the SFJAZZ North Beach Combo and the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco. In 2008, she played lead trombone in the CBDA / IAJE All State Honor Jazz Band, and won an “Outstanding Musician/Soloist” award and scholarship at the College of San Mateo Jazz Festival. She has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the San Jose Jazz Festival, the IAJE Conference and Jazz Gallery in New York City, and the Bay Area’s La Pena Cultural Center, Freight and Salvage and Great American Music Hall with Peter Apfelbaum and the Hieroglyphics Ensemble, Jai Uttal and the Pagan Love Orchestra, Josh Roseman, Pete Escovedo’s Latin Jazz Orchestra, Sheila E., the Nash Brothers, Edgardo Cambon and Orchestra Candela, Sandy Cressman, James K., and Moraima Logan. As a singer, dancer and actress, Natalie has performed in the American Conservatory Theater’s “A Christmas Carol,” Baz Luhrman’s Broadway production of “La Boheme,” the California Shakespeare Festival’s “Measure for Measure,” SOTA’s “Fiddler On the Roof” and “Beauty and the Beast,” and the San Francisco Ballet and City Ballet’s versions of “The Nutcracker.”

Trumpeter Kevin Early, 17, will be a senior at Las Vegas Academy in Nevada in the fall of 2008. He started playing trumpet at the age of six, and was taught by his father. Kevin began playing in the Clark County School District High School All-Star Band in the 6th grade, was named principal trumpet in the Las Vegas Youth Symphony from 6th through 9th grade, and was also principal trumpet in the Las Vegas Youth Philharmonic. At the Las Vegas Academy, Kevin performs with the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band and Philharmonic Orchestra, and has been a participant at the Community College of Southern Nevada’s Jazz Camp in 2004, 2005 and 2006. His accomplishments include being the only non-college brass player in the Las Vegas Music Festival in 2004, winning the 2005 Henderson Symphony Concerto Competition, landing the principal trumpet spot in the Clarke County Honor Band and Nevada All-State Jazz Band in 2005 and 2006, as well as performing with the UNLV Jazz Band. In 2007, the Las Vegas Academy combo took first place at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, Idaho, and he was named as a Next Generation Jazz Orchestra member by the Monterey Jazz Festival. In 2008, Kevin received an Outstanding Soloist Award as a member of the Las Vegas Academy’s Big Band at Monterey’s 4th Annual Next Generation Festival, and was a finalist for the Brubeck Institute Fellowship Program and the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY band.

Trombonist John Egizi, 16, will be a junior at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts in Los Angeles where he plays in the LACHSA Big Band and Combo A. He has studied with Jason Goldman, Walter Smith, Bill Wysaske, Scott Whitfield, Ira Nepus and Roger Neumann. In 2006, John was a member of the California Band Director Association’s All-State Honor band and a member of The Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Bill Green Mentorship Program. In 2007, John won Outstanding Soloist awards at the Reno Jazz and Berklee High School Jazz Festivals as well as the Outstanding Musicianship award from LACHSA. He also received a full scholarship to the Berklee Five-Week Summer Program, swept three categories at the Next Generation Festival with LACHSA and performed at MJF/50 with their big band. In 2008, John won an Outstanding Soloist award at Monterey’s Next Generation Festival, received his second Scholarship to Berklee’s Five-Week Summer Program, and was selected to the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. He has performed with bassist Christian McBride, pianist Josh Nelson and drummer Kevin Kanner.

Trumpeter Nick Frenay, 17, will be a senior at Manlius Pebble Hill School in Dewitt, New York and has been playing trumpet since the 4th grade. Nick participated in 2005-2006 at the Skidmore Jazz Institute and in 2007, MPH placed first in their division at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival; he also earned a full scholarship to the Berklee Summer and Vail Jazz Workshops. In 2007 and 2008, Nick was selected for the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles and Next Generation Jazz Orchestras. In addition, he was named to the 2008 Jazz Band of America and the New York All State Jazz Ensemble. He is a founding member of the Syracuse area youth jazz band “Mood Swings” and additionally performs with the Syracuse Parks & Recreation All-Star Band. Nick currently plays lead trumpet in the Young Lions of Central New York and recently had the opportunity to perform and record with Bob Mintzer as part of the YCCA Jazz Ensemble based in Rome, New York, and has additionally been a featured soloist with the Central New York Jazz Orchestra, playing side-by-side with trombonist Tom "Bones" Malone and trumpeter Marcus Printup.

Bassist Mike Gurrola, 17, will be a senior at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts in Los Angeles, California, where he is the principal bassist in LACHSA’s Jazz “A” Combo, Big Band, and rhythm section for the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Mike has studied stringed instruments for nine years, and currently studies classical bass method with David Young, the principal bassist in the L.A. Opera, and jazz bass with Carlitos del Puerto and Sam Minnaie. In 2006, Mike was selected to the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association’s All-Star Jazz Band. As a participant at the Berklee College of Music’s High School Jazz Festival in 2007, he was awarded an Outstanding Musicianship Award and scholarship for the Five-Week Summer Program, and, in 2008, he won an Outstanding Soloist Award at the Monterey’s Next Generation Festival and was selected to the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Mike has also been a featured artist at Catalina’s Young Artist Jazz Series in Los Angeles, and has played professional gigs in many of the top L.A. jazz clubs as a band leader and sideman, sharing the stage with Kevin Kanner, Josh Nelson, Austin Peralta, Javier Vergara, David Sills, Zane Musa, and Gilbert Castellanos. 

Guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Armand Hirsch, 17, will be a senior at Trevor Day School in New York City. Armand began his formal music training at age five on drums, and made his debut on The Bitter End as a twelve-year-old. Armand began playing guitar in middle school, and has studied with Peter Bernstein, Paul Bollenback, Mike Stern, Wayne Krantz, Charlie Banacos and Jonathan Kriesberg. Armand has performed professionally as a teenager with local NYC groups Captain Coconut and The Element, with gigs at the Knitting Factory, CBGB’s, the 55 Bar, B.B. King’s Blues Club, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Ottawa Canada’s House of Blues and other jazz festivals around the country. As a jazz guitarist, he has played with such jazz luminaries as Dr. Eddie Henderson, David Hazeltine, Roy Hargrove, Jeremy Pelt, Seleno Clarke, Dan Nimmer, Jim Rotondi, Mike DiRubbo, Joe Farnsworth and Dr. David Baker. Each year from 2004-2007, Armand won the Judges’ Choice Award at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival, and, in 2007, he was awarded the Outstanding Musicianship Award as well. In 2008, Armand was selected to the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble, performing with McCoy Tyner, Christian Scott and Eric Marienthal; he was also selected to Monterey’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.

Trumpeter Noah Hocker, 15, will be a junior at the Arts & Communication Magnet Academy in Beaverton, Oregon, where he plays lead trumpet for the Advanced Jazz Orchestra, the Intermediate Jazz Ensemble, and Rubber Pencil, the ACMA Jazz Combo. Noah studies trumpet with Derek Sims, and is also a member of Portland, Oregon’s Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Lajos Balogh, and the MYS Jazz Band 1, under the direction of Derek Sims. He is also a member the award-winning Pacific Crest Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Portland jazz legend, Thara Memory. Noah has performed with P-Crest at jazz festivals and competitions throughout the country including Next Generation Jazz Festival and Monterey Jazz Festival in California; Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington Competition in New York City; the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho; The North Texas Jazz Festival; the Clark College Jazz Festival in Vancouver, Washington; the Berklee High School Jazz Festival in Boston; and the Northwest Jazz Band Festival in Oregon. In 2008, Noah was accepted into Monterey’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.

Saxophonist and composer Adam Larson, 18, has been playing saxophone since 5th grade and is a graduate of University High School in Normal, Illinois. In 2008 alone, Adam was selected to participate in Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Program at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C.; was named the winner of the Jupiter XO Student Jazz Solo Competition; played in the 2008 Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble; was named a member of the Jazz Band of America; was a National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts youngARTS National Honorable Mention Finalist; was an Illinois Regional Award Winner for the NFAA Jazz Saxophone category; and was selected to the Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. He has also been awarded Best Jazz Composition and Improvisation for the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 Illinois All-State Composition Contest, and was a member of the 2007/2008 Illinois All-State Honors Jazz Combo. In 2007, Larson was a member of MJF’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra and the inaugural Jazz Band of America, and was one of fifteen invitees to the 2007 Jazz Rising Stars Program at the Steans Institute for Young Artists at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, Illinois. Larson has had the privilege to work with James Moody, Rufus Reid, Jim McNeely, Billy Childs, Matt Wilson, Terence Blanchard, Shelly Berg, Nathan Davis, Dr. Billy Taylor, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Winard Harper, Curtis Fuller, Butch Warren, Wynton Marsalis and many others. In the fall, Adam will attend the Manhattan School of Music on a full-tuition scholarship.

Tenor saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, 18, is a graduate of Horseheads High School in Horseheads, New York, where he performed with the school’s Concert and Jazz Bands. From 2002 through 2008, Chad won twelve DownBeat Magazine Junior High School and High School Student Music Awards, in the categories of best Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist, Best Jazz Instrumental Soloist, and Best Jazz Small Combo. Starting in junior high school, Chad was selected by The Commission Project in Rochester, New York to receive annual works written for him, and has performed those works as a featured soloist with the Ithaca College and Cornell University Jazz Bands, and the 607 Area Code All-Star Jazz Band. He was selected to the 2006 and 2007 New York All-State Jazz Ensemble, and, in addition, Chad has received scholarships to the Berklee College of Music Summer Music Program, the Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony and Vail Summer Jazz Workshop. In 2007, Chad won a Superior Musicianship Award at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival, and in 2008, he was selected for the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble, Music for All’s Jazz Band of America, and Monterey’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Chad has worked with Lewis Nash, the Clayton Brothers, Terell Stafford, Frank Morgan and Marvin Stamm, and has performed with McCoy Tyner, Phil Woods, Clay Jenkins, Josh Groban, and many others. In the fall, Chad will attend the Brubeck Institute at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, as a Brubeck Fellow.

Drummer Jimmy Macbride is a senior at Hall High School in West Hartford, Connecticut and is also a student at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. He has held the drummer’s position in Hall’s prestigious Concert Jazz Band since his freshman year, and studies drums with Tom Melito, with additional instruction on piano, composition and music theory with Earl MacDonald. In 2003, the Percussive Arts Society awarded Jimmy the Larrie Londin Memorial Scholarship and the William Ludwig Scholarship. Jimmy has also won three DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards in 2003, 2004 and 2006 as well as a 2007 ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composers Award; he has twice received Honorable Mention from ASCAP for his original compositions. He has been awarded three full scholarships to the Berklee College of Music’s Five-Week Summer Performance Program from 2006-08, and has additionally won a scholarship to attend the Skidmore Jazz Institute. In August 2008, Jimmy will attend the Vail Jazz Workshop, also on full scholarship. In addition, Jimmy serves as a volunteer for West Hartford’s Gifts of Music, a foundation that raises money for local youth who are unable to afford musical instruments or private lessons.

Trumpeter Blake Martin, 18, is a graduate of Evergreen High School in Vancouver, Washington. He is a member of the award-winning Evergreen High School Jazz Band "A," where he has won multiple Outstanding Musician and Soloist awards. He is also a member of Portland, Oregon’s Pacific Crest Jazz Orchestra and has traveled with the band to New York, Boston, Texas, California, Idaho, and Oregon for numerous competitions and performances. Blake was additionally a member of Portland’s 2006 Metropolitan Youth Symphony and MYS All-Star Jazz Orchestra, and was selected to perform in Seattle’s Western International Band Clinic from 2005-2007. Blake has also been selected to the 2006 Washington All-State Classical Orchestra and 2007 All-State Jazz Program, the National Association for Music Education’s 2005 and 2007 All-Northwest Orchestras, and the 2007 MENC Honor Band. In 2008, Blake was selected to play with the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Orchestra and the Monterey Jazz Festival’s the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Blake has played and studied with artists such as Paul Mazzio, Stan Bock, Thara Memory, Jeff Uusitalo, Nancy King, Terell Stafford, Eric Marienthal, and Christian Scott. Blake will attend the Manhattan School of Music in the fall on a full-tuition scholarship, where he will study with Jon Faddis.

Trumpeter Gabe Medd, 17, is a senior at the Iowa City West High School, where he performs in the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Quartet "Euphoria." Gabe began playing the trumpet in fifth grade and has studied with Barry Hillam, David Greenhoe and Brent Sandy. From 2006-2008, Gabe was a three-year Principal Chair member of the Iowa All-State Band; the three-time Jazz Chair in the Iowa All-State Jazz Band, and a three-year member of the District Honor Jazz Ensemble. Gabe is additionally a three-year Outstanding Soloist Award winner at the Iowa Jazz Championships. He has additionally been a member of the 2005 and 2006 Birch Creek (Wisconsin) Ambassadors Combo, and additionally won Birch Creek’s 2006 Outstanding Wind Player Award. Also in 2005 and 2006, Gabe was a Semi-Finalist and Finalist in the National Trumpet Competition in Fairfax, Virginia. He also a two-year winner of the Best of Center Award at the Iowa High School Music Association’s Solo Contest in 2006 and 2007. Gabe was selected to Music for All’s 2007 Jazz Band of America and the 2007 Midwest Young Artists Summer Jazz Ensemble, which toured China. In 2008, Gabe was selected to the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble and Monterey’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, as well as winning an Outstanding Soloist Awards from Illinois’ Rolling Meadows, Iowa City’s SEIBA and University of Northern Iowa’s Tallcorn Jazz Festivals.

Drummer Dan Nadeau, 18, is a graduate of Wayland High School in Wayland, Massachusetts, where he played with their honor Wind and Jazz Ensembles. He has also attended the New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School since 2005. He has won scholarships to the 2005 Berklee Percussion Festival, the 2006 Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance Program’s elite Summer Jazz Workshop, and the 2007 Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony in Stockton, California. Dan has studied privately with Milo Beuhler, Rick Considine, and Bob Gullotti, with additional lessons from Terri Lyne Carrington, Bob Moses, Ralph Alessi, Jackie Santos, Kenwood Dennard, and others. Dan has performed at Jordon Hall, the Lizard Lounge, the Lily Pad and the Berklee Performance Center in Boston; he has additionally performed with Rick Dimuzio, Jamie Stewardson, Dave Zoffer, John Lockwood, Ben Monder, Oscar Stagnaro, and Donny McCaslin. In the fall, Dan will attend Berklee College of Music on a full tuition scholarship. This is Dan’s first year in the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.

Trombonist Javier Nero, 17, is a graduate of Evergreen High School in Vancouver, Washington. He is a member of their award winning High School Jazz Band, where he has won the Most Outstanding Rookie Brass Player and Most Improved Jazz Member awards. He has additionally won multiple scholarships from the Jazz Society of Oregon and the South West Music School. Javier was a 2005 member of Portland’s Metropolitan Youth Symphony, and a 2006 scholarship winner for the MYS Jazz Band. In 2006 and 2007, Javier received six soloist awards from the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, performed as lead trombonist in the MENC All-Northwest Honor Jazz Band and the Washington All-State Concert Band, and with the Pacific Crest Jazz Orchestra. In 2007, Javier was the soloist award winner at the Clark College and Willamette Jazz Festivals, the winner of the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival Solo Competition, received a full scholarship to Berklee's Five-Week Summer Performance Program, and was accepted to the Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Javier has played and studied with Bernard Purdie, Terell Stafford, Javon Jackson, Thara Memory, Nancy King, Ed Neumeister, Stan Bock, Jeff Uusitalo, Dr. Donald Appert, and many others. 2008 is the second year Javier has been selected to the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.

Saxophonist and clarinetist Hailey Niswanger, 17, is a graduate of West Linn High School in West Linn, Oregon, where she played in the jazz and symphonic bands. She also is a member of the Pacific Crest Jazz Orchestra in Portland under the direction of Thara Memory, the Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra, and the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. With Pacific Crest, Hailey performed at IAJE in New York City in 2007 and at pre-festival events for the Monterey Jazz Festival. In 2006 and 2007, Hailey received scholarships to the Berklee College of Music Summer Jazz Workshop as well as the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble. In 2007, Hailey was selected to the Vail Jazz Workshop, the MENC 2007 All-Northwest Jazz Band as well as Music for All’s 2007 and 2008 Jazz Band of America. Hailey has received accolades from many festivals around the US, including outstanding soloist awards from the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho and Monterey’s Next Generation Festival in 2008; she additionally won the 2008 Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Saxophone Competition at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.; her combo will also headline at the MLW Women in Jazz Festival in 2009. She has additionally performed with George Duke, Terri Lynn Carrington, George Garzone, Terell Stafford, Phil Woods, James Moody, Patti Austin, McCoy Tyner, Christian Scott, Steve Nelson, Taylor Eigsti, and Wynton Marsalis. In September, Hailey will perform three times at MJF/51, twice with the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra and once with Pacific Crest, who won the Conglomerate category at Monterey’s Next Generation Festival in April, 2008.  In the fall, Hailey will begin her study of jazz performance at the Berklee College of Music on full scholarship.
                                   
Saxophonist John Palowitch, 17, is a graduate of Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California, where he played lead alto in the school’s Jazz “A” band, directed and played in the Jazz Combo and was a two-time Woody Herman Jazz Award winner. John has been studying saxophone with Daniel Zinn since age eleven; he also plays piano, flute, and clarinet. In 2008, John was selected as a returning member to Music For All’s Jazz Band of America, the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble, and the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, and was awarded a 2008 NFAA youngArts Honorable Mention in Jazz Saxophone. John is a four-year member of the IAJE/CBDA California High School Jazz Band, and a three-year member of the Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. John is the recipient of numerous Outstanding Musician and Soloist Awards from the California Association for Music Education, Folsom, and the CSU East Bay Jazz Festivals, and a 2007 DownBeat Magazine Student Music Award for Original Song. He has performed with many renowned artists, including Wynton Marsalis, James Moody, Phil Woods, Patti Austin, Tom Scott, Kurt Elling, Stefon Harris, McCoy Tyner, Terence Blanchard, John Santos, and Christian Scott. In the fall of 2008, John will continue his music studies at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music on full tuition scholarship.

Trombonist Emmanuel Rojas, 16, will be a junior at Warren High School in Downey, California, were he plays bass trombone for the Advanced Placement Jazz I Band. Emmanuel has been playing music since the 4th grade, and is a member of the 2007-2008 Los Angeles Youth Jazz Ensemble, the 2008 Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association Jazz All-Stars, and is a three year member of the Hollywood Canteen Swing Band. He has won the Judges Choice Award at the 2007 Play Days Festival in Monterey Park, California, and received Judges Recognition at the 2008 Irvine, Fullerton, and Reno Jazz Festivals. Emmanuel studies trombone with Andy Martin, Jacques Voyemant, John Morgan, and John Daversa. 2008 is the first year Emmanuel has been selected to the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.

Vocalist Richard Saunders, 18, recently graduated from Simsbury High School in Simsbury, Connecticut and the Hartford Academy of the Arts, where he performed in various ensembles as a pianist and vocalist, including the “Real Ambassadors” Jazz Choir. In addition, Richard studied classical voice with Dr. Ken Shelley at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford. Throughout high school, Richard won numerous awards and accolades as a vocalist, including winning the 2008 National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Silver Award, membership in the Gibson/Baldwin
GRAMMY Jazz Choir in both 2007 and 2008; and the 2008 Presidential Scholar in the Arts from the U.S. Department of Education.  He has performed at events for the 49th and 50th Annual GRAMMY Award Shows in Los Angeles, the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York, and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.  Richard plans to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter, and currently performs and records original material with his band. Richard will study jazz voice and composition at New England Conservatory next fall.

Trombonist Stephen Szabadi, 16, is a senior at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts in Los Angeles, where he plays lead trombone in the Senior Jazz Band and performs regularly with their jazz sextet. Stephen has performed with the globe-hopping Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra since 2005. Stephen has also played trombone in the 2006 and 2007 Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association’s Junior High and All-Star Jazz Honor Bands, and the 2006 Idyllwild Summer Program’s Top Combo and ‘A’ Jazz Band. Stephen has studied with Andy Martin, Greg Samuel and Toby Holmes, and played at the 2007 Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl with the Eagle Rock High School Jazz Ensemble. 2008 is the second year Stephen has been selected to the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.