SOUTH PORTLAND – How does one successfully organize 40 groups of young musicians for the largest high school jazz event around? First, speak to the South Portland Music Boosters.

On March 15 and 16, South Portland High School hosted the 2019 Maine State High School Instrumental Jazz Festival. Each school plays a selection of songs before a panel of judges, competing with other schools in their division and they are ranked based on a range of rigorous criteria.

Craig Skeffington is the band director at South Portland High School and serves as the instrumental jazz chairman for the Maine Music Educators Association; it was his responsibility to hire the judges that would oversee the competition. The 2019 festival is his 25th year participating in the event.

“This is the biggest festival in the whole state,” Skeffington said.

Over the years he has watched the jazz festival grow into something that bands from across the state of Maine look forward to. Some high school bands, such as Nokomis and Old Town, have participated for 30 years. Other schools, such as Lake Region and Baxter Academy, are still new to the program.

According to the Music Boosters, putting on an event of this scale is no easy task. Over the course of the two-day event the school hosted more than 80 performances from 40 different Maine high schools. The students who traveled the furthest drove all the way from Limestone to attend. Given the limited space availability (as classes were in session on Friday), the bands shared homerooms with one another.

What added to the challenge was the timing: South Portland was not originally scheduled to host the 2019 festival.

“We weren’t supposed to do this,” Skeffington explained. “There was another school that was supposed to host it, but they backed out. We agreed to take it on at the last minute.”

Despite all of these factors, it was a fun atmosphere at South Portland High. Those involved were happy to be a part of this yearly Maine tradition.

Jazz is a genre that originated in southern cities such as New Orleans and quickly spread throughout the country. It rose in popularity in the early 20th century, combining elements of blues, ragtime, swing, classical and other styles. Some of its most recognizable musicians include Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis. Today jazz is found all around the world and has taken on many new forms, from bebop to bossa nova.

A performance can feature a wide variety of instruments. For example, South Portland’s jazz combos used three types of saxophones: alto, tenor and baritone. They also played trumpets, trombones, guitar and bass, drums, piano a vibraphone (similar to a xylophone, and often abbreviated to “vibes”).

Skeffington uses a combination of musical styles during festivals. For this event he chose both jazz classics and songs from other genres, including a cover of “Isn’t She Lovely.”

“As far as the music choice goes, I really like mixing styles,” he said. “I like having the kids learn old songs to teach improvisation, especially 12-bar blues and pieces based on ‘I Got Rhythm’ changes. The Stevie Wonder choice was appropriate because the chord changes, which the piece is based on, are really steeped in the jazz tradition.”

In addition to the boosters, there were also student and parent volunteers who assisted with various tasks, which included directing visitors and moving instruments and stage equipment. Even the student musicians were pitching in.

“I personally enjoy helping out and organizing everything for this event. It’s a lot of fun,” said sophomore Gavin Tarling, who plays the alto saxophone.

One other thing that everybody agreed upon is the important role that the South Portland Music Boosters played. The collaboration between this group and the Maine Music Educators Association was demonstrated through the smooth transitions between performances.

“The Music Boosters are huge. They are a ginormous help in making this happen. We couldn’t do it without them,” said junior Madison Strout, who plays trumpet and mellophone.

Skeffington agreed.

“The South Portland Music Boosters, they are absolutely awesome,” he said.

South Portland High School groups received gold in Division I Combos and Division I Big Jazz Bands, as well as silver in Multi Jazz Bands. In addition, several South Portland students were given the Outstanding Musician award. These include Gavin Tarling (baritone saxophone), Sam Withers (trumpet), and Cliff Robbins-Sennewald (guitar). Max Saffer-Meng (trombone) received the Dale Huff Award.

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