Dunedin Youth Jazz Orchestra

By OBHS | Posted: Tuesday May 28, 2024

Two students from Otago Boys' - Finn Marshall and Callan Power performed on Saturday, 18 May in the Dunedin Youth Jazz Orchestra's sell out concert at Hanover Hall.

The concert, titled "Molly McGee sings Ella Fitzgerald", presented original arrangements of Big Band compositions recorded by Ella Fitzgerald in the late 1950s.

Finn (Year 12) is lead alto in "All Blues" and has recently earned the chair of second alto in the DYJO. Callan - a Year 9 student at Otago Boys', recently traded the alto for the tenor saxophone in the school ensemble and was invited to join the DYJO a couple of weeks before the concert by band director Bill Martin. Both players impressed in the concert as part of the saxophone section of the DYJO.

Finn and Callan will be travelling to Blenheim in early August to perform as part of All Blues in the Southern Jam. They will also perform in a combo with trumpeter Oban Voice, pianist Nikita Lu, bassist Fleur de Clifford and drummer Rata Williams. The band is planning a fundraising concert for the trip at the Dish on July 26.