St. Margaret’s award-winning Jazz Band had the unique opportunity to play at the 14th Annual Ocean Institute Red Hot Jazz Festival this past Friday and Saturday. The Ocean Institute's popular Jazz Festival hosts some of the jazz world's most renowned artists.

Led by Band Director Chris Carbajal, the 16 Upper School students that form the Jazz Band played during the cocktail and silent auction of Friday’s opening night and Saturday’s premier event.

“This was an opportunity for a real gig. Playing for your peers is one thing, but preparing a concert for the community outside of St. Margaret's takes much more preparation,” said Mr. Carbajal. “I'm really proud of our students. We only had two weeks to learn the music. I had really high expectations and the students rose to that level.”

“The Jazz Festival was very different in that it allowed us to play for a community outside of St. Margaret's. This became very apparent when people we didn't know came to listen to us. Despite the added pressure, the Jazz Festival will go down as one of the most memorable performances in my high school career,” said James Swanson, grade 11.

“The Jazz Festival was a great experience for everyone involved. We learned how to act like professionals, and really take the gig seriously. It was exciting to show everyone a little taste of the arts at St. Margaret’s,” said Grace Chalmers, grade 12.

Grace Chalmers, grade 12

Daniella Luna, grade 11

Kenneth Brown, grade 11

Stewart Toubia, grade 12

Jacob Krutcik, grade 12

David Larsen, grade 12

Charles Bienert, grade 9

Shane Dhillon, grade 11

Jake Kofdarali, grade 10

Scott Lilly, grade 11

Olivia Lynch, grade 11

Matthew Margeson, grade 9

Andrew Nallathambi, grade 12

Neal Singh, grade 11

James Swanson, grade 11

Natalie Yee, grade 9