Cosponsored by the Schubert Club and the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education, open to high school students (grades 9 – 12) from ages 15 through 18, the annual Jazz Piano Competition rewards excellence among students of America's great indigenous art form.

Applicants earlier submitted a CD sound recording containing three jazz performances of their choosing, including at least one solo. Judges scored these recordings on a blind basis and selected three finalists.

On Sunday, May 18, 2008, all three finalists  will compete before a panel of judges and a live audience at the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant.  This year's judges are Mary Louise Knutson, Nachito Herrera, and Jeanne Arland Peterson. The competition will be emceed by Kathleen van Bergen, Director of the Schubert Club. Renowned area musicians Gordon Johnson (bass) and Phil Hey (drums) will accompany the finalists on stage.

At stake are scholarships totaling $2,000 honoring Marie Froelich, David Paulus and Jane Matteson. The competition’s winner will also have an opportunity to perform at the Minneapolis Hot Summer Jazz Festival, the Dakota Jazz Club and/or a Schubert Club Courtroom Concert later in the year.

The Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant is located at 1010 Nicollet mall in downtown Minneapolis. Click here to visit the Web site.

The competiion will begin at 2 p.m. It is FREE and the public is invited.

2007–2008 Dakota Combo to Perform Spring Concert at MacPhail Center for Music on Thursday, May 22, at 8 p.m. 

A joint project of the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education and MacPhail Center for Music, the Dakota Combo is an ensemble of the Twin Cities’ top high school jazz musicians.

Led by MacPhail educator, jazz trumpet playerr, and composer  Kelly Rossum, the musicians in this year’s combo are Jake Baldwin, Stephanie Wieseler, Geoff LeCrone, Jacob Wittenberg, Corey Grindberg and Mathew Roberts.

They will perform their spring concert at Antonello Hall in the new MacPhail Center for Music.

The MacPhail Center is located at 501 S. 2nd Street in Minneapolis. Click here to go to the Web site.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. It is FREE and the public is invited.