Jazz June is an annual festival in which the Preuss community unites to enjoy a variety of shows that include multiple genres of music. This year, Jazz June will occur on June 5th, during block 3, in the Walton Center. Classes who wanted to attend were asked to sign up.
“I really hope that most of our Preuss community gets to attend this Jazz June year because it’s gonna be a one of a kind show,” comments Ms.Noorzay.
Jazz June is organized by Ms. Noorzay, Preuss’ art teacher, gardening club advisor, Mr. Rodriguez, musician and former music teacher; Mr. Rocca, drama teacher; and as a part of their junior year service learning project, students from Dr. Ensberg and Mr. Arias’ advisory classes also collaborated. This year’s Jazz June will include two senior vocalists, original compositions, and the showcasing of different artworks from some of preuss’ art students.
“I think it’s always good when you come together as a community because it’s more celebratory when everyone does a piece of it. It comes out way better and it just feels different,” expresses Ms. Noorzay.
This year, Mia Rodriguez (‘25) took up the challenge of playing two different bases including High and Low Bass. A special add on to this year’s Jazz June is the showcasing of Mauricio Salas’ (‘25) original piece of sheet music.
The purpose of this gathering is to recognize the “invention” of the music genre, jazz, and the understanding that many different cultural musical traditions feed into jazz as a whole. Additionally, the event brings recognition to individuals for their unique talents and achievements, these individuals include jazz legend Louis Armstrong and new artist Kendrick Lamar. As a bonus, Mr. Rodriguez invited two special guests to this year’s show, these guests are local San Diego Jazz musicians David Rich and Doug Hartley.
“We have two very special guests this year and so it’s going to be a wide selection of jazz standards and original compositions too. It’s gonna be a culmination of the music we’ve been working on throughout the academic year,”stated Mr. Diego Rodriguez.
Jazz June has been an annual tradition at Preuss for the past five years. It was started by Mrs. Ippolito, a now-retired Preuss drama teacher. This festival brings awareness to the history of jazz, how the Harlem Renaissance brought African-Americans to express themselves through different forms of creativity such as art and music creation. Jazz June connects to the mission of Preuss, promoting creative freedom through education.
