JAZZ
AT BOARDMAN HIGH SCHOOL
Jazz
has been part of the curriculum for as long as most people can remember, but
it has recently gained incredible momentum. Director of Bands Thomas
Ruggieri considers himself and his students lucky to be in a school system
in which the curriculum includes two jazz ensemble classes that meet
everyday as part of the high school schedule. That fact in and of itself is
rare for an increasing number of school districts across the country. But
not since the early 1980s when Ruggieri was a student at BHS has there been
so much interest in Jazz that two ensembles is not enough. BHS Jazz Ensemble 3 rehearses two days a week
after school and will perform in the April and June jazz concerts. There
are many colleges and universities with good music programs that do not have
three full jazz ensembles. The quality and depth of the program is one of
the reasons why Boardman is on the American Music Conference’s 2006 and 2009 lists of
the Best 100 Communities for Music Education in America, and why we
are one of only a handful of schools in the country to be selected as a Grammy
Signature School.
BHS
Jazz Ensembles have performed at numerous jazz festivals, community events,
and concerts including venues at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland
and Trump Tower in New York City. They have accompanied the late,
great jazz trumpeter and band leader Maynard Ferguson, saxophonist Phil
Woods, trombonist Randy Purcell, and trumpeter Jack Schantz. Alumni of the program include
prominent performers and educators all over the world.
Boardman Band
