For 11 years, Manlius Pebble Hill has sponsored this community Jazz Fest that features regional professional artists and jazz students from Manlius Pebble Hill and other local schools. The quality of all the performers is outstanding and audience members are transported through decades of jazz, from traditional to modern. The Jazz Fest is more than a production for participating students. Each event is preceded by a workshop for the young professionals led by the guest artist with experiential lessons, tips, stories, and more.
This year’s guest performer is vocalist Cookie Coogan, a gifted artist often compared to Ella Fitzgerald for her bright scat improvisations and fun-filled approach to music. Her repertoire consists of over 150 tunes ranging from popular and lesser-known standards of the Great American Songbook, to jazz and blues classics, to Brazilian bossa novas, and charming originals. Ms. Coogan is also a pianist, composer, arranger and educator.
Student performers include accomplished MPH artists in the Middle School Jazz Combo and Jazz Collective and Upper School Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo.
MPH is also proud to introduce Richard Huyge as the new Jazz Fest director and band instructor for MPH following Joe Columbo, who relocated to Florida in 2014. Richard performs regionally on saxophone, clarinet, flute, and piano. He is currently a member of El Rumbon!, Ithaca’s premier Latin Dance Band, and can be seen with the Salt City Jazz Collective from time to time. Richard is not new to MPH, having been active with MPH’s summer theater program for 9 years. With his daughter Ashley, Richard has written 9 musicals for young people, with a new project planned for the summer of 2015.