High school big band festivals & workshops

In 2016, the Essentially Ellington Down Under program expanded to delivering a high school jazz band performance festival in Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney. At the festival, high school jazz bands performed 3 pieces which were adjudicated by Jazz at Lincoln Center clinicians.

Each performance was recorded with real-time adjudication comments from the clinicians. Each band then received a private workshop immediately after their performance with one of the clinicians. The performance festival would be followed by a full-day professional workshop with teachers, delivered by the two Jazz at Lincoln Center clinicians.

From 2017 to 2019, the Essentially Ellington Down Under program was presented in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented the program from 2020 to 2021, however the program returned again in 2022, with high school performance festivals and professional development workshops delivered in all major capital cities in mainland Australia.