Community Post

City declares Garfield High School Jazz Band Day

Two weeks after Garfield’s history-making first-place finish at the Essentially Ellington jazz competition, the mayor and city council have declared today as Garfield High School Jazz Band Day.

The proclamation cites their fourth first-place win at Ellington, their other wins around the country, and the history of band director Clarence Acox Jr. as key reasons for the day of honor.

WHEREAS, The city of Seattle is one of the nation’s most dynamic music cities, where a rich history feeds a lifestyle of musical innovation, inspiration, and talent, including young musicians whose creativity enhances our cultural life and inpires our community; and

WHEREAS, Garfield High School Jazz Ensemble captured first place in the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the most prestigious high school music competition in the United States; and

WHERAS, Garfield won the competition for an unprecendented fourth time in the past decade and is the only band to win the competition in consecutive years, placing first in 2009, 2004, and 2003; and

WHEREAS, The basics such as reading, writing and math are an important part of a quality education; the arts – including music education – are integral to a complete education; and

WHEREAS, Clarence Acox Jr. – an instrumental figure in the Seattle music scene – has nurtured young musicians for the past 39 years as director of jazz bands at Garfield High School, demonstrating that a well-rounded music education can be key ot a student’s success in life and learning; and

WHEREAS, The Garfield Jazz Ensemble has toured Europe; performed with jazz greats such as Wynton Marsalis, Quincy Jones and Ernestine Anderson; won every major high-school jazz competition on the West Coast; and is rightfully regarded as a legendary part of Seattle’s jazz culture,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED BY THE MAYOR AND SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL THAT MONDAY, MAY 24, 2010, SHALL BE

GARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ BAND DAY

A scanned PDF of the proclamation with signatures is attached above.

0 thoughts on “City declares Garfield High School Jazz Band Day

  1. Riley Mulherkar who won the Ella Fitzgerald outstanding soloist award. A huge honor for him.

  2. How wonderful to recognize these hard working kids, as well as Clarence Acox. They deserve it and it is so nice to have something positive in the news these days!