The Plattsburgh City School District Jazz Program has a rich history of musical excellence dating back to the 1960s. Following a period of dormancy earlier in this decade, the program saw a revival in 2014. The program currently consists of the Stafford Middle School Jazz Ensemble, a High School Jazz Combo Group known as Pink Magnolia, and the Plattsburgh High School Jazz Ensemble, the flagship instrumental music group of the Plattsburgh City School District.

            In the past five years, the PHS Jazz Ensemble has expanded its programmatic offerings throughout the northern New York Community. Some of our performances include:

• 2018 Performance Tour to Boston, Massachusetts: Performances at Veronica B. Smith Center, Mattapan Teen Center. Performance Masterclass with Ra-Kalam Bob Moses (New England Conservatory). 

• Annual Dinner Dance Event held at Plattsburgh City Hall Rotunda and Plattsburgh Moose Lodge drawing in more than 200 guests each year from around the area.

• Annual Invitations to perform at the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival as a part of the Jazz on the Church Street Marketplace Concert Series. 2019 will mark the group’s 5th performance at the festival.

• Annual Holiday Community Outreach Concerts at Meadowbrook Healthcare Center, the Samuel F. Vilas Home and Lake Forest Senior Living Community.

• Performances at the 2014 and 2015 Soulful Christmas Celebration at SUNY Plattsburgh Giltz Auditorium in collaboration with the SUNY Plattsburgh Gospel Choir

• Educational Performances for younger students in the Plattsburgh City School District at Oak Street Elementary School and Stafford Middle School.

In addition to the work and studies of the full jazz ensemble, a jazz combo program was

developed in the spring of 2016 as an outlet for our most advanced students to pursue a deeper study of jazz repertoire and history.

Our current jazz combo group, Pink Magnolia, has made a name for themselves performing throughout the community. Such performances include:

• 2017 Clinton County Medical Society Fundraiser at Clinton Community College

• 2017 Holiday Performance at Champlain Centre Mall

• 2017 Performance at the Radio Bean coffee bar and music club in Burlington, Vermont

• Summer 2018 Concert at the ‘Concert on the Bluff’ concert series at Clinton Community College

• Upcoming April 2019 Performance Tour to New Orleans, Louisiana  

Beyond providing students with a diverse array of performance opportunities, our main

focus is on an intensive study of jazz performance styles, jazz improvisation, jazz literature and the history of the genre. Students who study in this program from 6th grade through 12th grade leave with a greater understanding and appreciation for the jazz culture. Many students have gone on to continue performing in jazz ensembles at the collegiate level and some students have even pursued music as a profession at such institutions at the Berklee College of Music, Boston University College of Fine Arts and the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam.