The Bigfork High School band is closing another successful year with wins at an Idaho jazz competition and students getting to go to the state music festival.  

Band Director Brian Phillips is back in the classroom after a trip to Great Falls for the state solo and ensemble festivals. Music festivals are held in 12 districts each spring, followed by the solo and ensemble festivals. 

Phillips said the jazz band and percussion ensemble went to the state festival, as well as Boden Barr, Liam Schimmelman, Maddie Gibson, Graham Munson and Jennifer Whitney. 

Vocalists who went on to state from the choir program, headed by director Erik Heuchert, included Jennifer Whitney, Payton Kallenberger, Dylynne Cosand, Ayla Wermer, Scotta Rudolph, Olivia Close, Brody Henion, Micah Butler and Jacob Baldi. 

The solo and ensemble festivals are a chance for students to play with other schools and to hear a variety of solos from other musicians. It’s not a super competitive event, Phillips said, but instead an educational opportunity.  

“They’re supposed to be getting a master class at the end of their solo and getting some good feedback, so I think that was fun,” Phillips said. “Our kids just enjoyed the experience of making it to state and getting kind of the distinction that goes along with it, and then getting to travel and kind of have another fun trip. So, yeah, the highlight was getting to be together one more time on the road.”  

Their experience at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho was also educational, but with an unexpected win for the newly formed jazz band. Phillips said they made the decision to offer jazz band as a WIN class, a 30-minute block during the school day when students can catch up in class or explore advanced subjects. When Phillips saw how many students signed up, they decided to make it into a full class. He said jazz band meets in the morning during “zero period” between 7-7:45 a.m. 

Phillips said the main purpose for taking students to the jazz band festival was to expose them to spectacular bands from other schools. He said with Lionel Hampton being one of the larger jazz festivals on the west coast, there were schools from Canada, Las Vegas, Washington and Oregon, among others.  

“My hope was that we would go there and be inspired to kind of continue to grow and develop, and we got to see some world class jazz musicians at the evening concert. Then we ended up winning our division, which is kind of a nice treat. It was frosting on the cake,” Phillips said. 

His second year at Bigfork was filled with a focus on helping his students develop good tone and musical abilities, as well as creating a good culture where kids felt like they can feel safe and express themselves.  

Looking back on the past year, he's enjoyed how the community has really embraced the jazz band.  

“We did some community events this year. We played in the Christmas parade, we did a tree lighting performance downtown ... and we did a fundraiser at Andy's Crafthouse--- 100 people come out to that concert,” Phillips said. “So it's been cool to see how the community really supported this young group. I've enjoyed being a part of that.”  

Next year is a big year for the band. Phillips said they will be taking the group to New York City for a sightseeing and educational trip, including a performance. Because of this, he said they will likely skip smaller trips like the Lionel Jazz Festival, since students will be focused on fundraising for New York.  

“That's kind of a big, exciting thing for us to do. And then we're just continually looking to grow the program. Hopefully the jazz band will continue to grow from its pretty successful first year and establish a tradition that will be around for a long time,” Phillips said.  

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing [email protected].