Foxborough High Jazz Combo Band Members Share NYC Experience with School Committee

Editor's note: The following was submitted for publication by Foxborough Assistant Superintendent of Schools Dr. Amy Berdos.

Foxborough High School Jazz Combo band members Nicholas Adair, Alexa Dumont, Alexander Olsen and Kevin Scollins traveled this spring to New York City to the Manhattan School of Music to compete in the Charles Mingus Competition and recently shared their experiences with the Foxborough School Committee. 

The jazz quartet had been selected as one of three finalists in the country in the Combo category.  In order to receive this honor, musicians from around the country must compete in either big bands or small combos and are required to select three Mingus charts to perform and submit a prescreening CD.

FHS music teacher David Piper helped the ensemble record their selected pieces to submit for the competition. The FHS students told the school committee they selected their three Mingus pieces by working in collaboration and then had to “make it their own.”

Scollins, the spokesperson for the group, further described the process by explaining after turning the piece into their own arrangement and submitting their CD they had to wait for the detailed individual feedback from the adjudicators in order to find out if they were selected for a spot in the Competition. 

As for the next steps for FHS seniors Scollins and Olsen, each told the committee they plan to pursue music after graduation and have already been accepted to schools with some of the top music programs in the country.