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Annual SteelStacks High School Jazz Band Showcase Returns for 11th consecutive year
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — ArtsQuest is honored to host and present the annual SteelStacks High School Jazz Band Showcase presented by law firm King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul, in partnership with Moravian University and official media partner, Service Electric Cable TV. The preliminary rounds will be held at the Musikfest Café presented by Yuengling on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, and Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, with the first and second rounds consisting of nine and twelve schools, with the finalists called back to perform Sunday, March 19, 2023. Tickets for the preliminary rounds are now available, priced at $7 and can be purchased on our website, steelstacks.org, or by calling the box office at 610.332.3378. For more exclusive ticket access and advance purchase opportunities, become an ArtsQuest Circle donor today.
“KingSpry is thrilled to partner with ArtsQuest to present this festival for an amazing 11th year,” said Matthew Tranter, Deputy Managing Partner of the KingSpry Law firm and a board member of the Friends of Levitt Pavilion. “Our education practice serves many of the schools represented in the competition, so it is particularly fun for us to see these incredible students performing on the ArtsQuest stage.”
“We are honored to once again be able to host these talented musicians from so many high schools throughout the Lehigh Valley and beyond,” commented Shayna Super, Executive Director of Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks & Programming Manager at ArtsQuest. “The level of competition that these students perform at is exemplary and will make for a memorable experience for all of the bands as well as the audience.”
For the past decade, the city of Bethlehem has had the privilege of hosting high school bands from over 20 different local and regional schools to compete, showcasing their extensive musical abilities. This year, more than a dozen schools from Pennsylvania and New Jersey will compete in front of musical educators, judge panelists, and a live audience for awards and titles.
The High Schools represented in this year’s 2023 showcase are Bangor Area High School, Brandywine Heights High School, Delaware Valley High School (NJ), Dieruff High School, Easton High School, Fleetwood Area High School, Freedom High School, the Hill School, Kutztown High School, LaSalle College High School Competition Band, LaSalle College High School Lab Band, Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, North Penn High School Columbia Jazz Band, North Penn High School Navy Jazz Band, Pocono Mountain East High School, Quakertown High School, Southern Lehigh High School Jazz Band Society, Southern Lehigh High School Jazz Trane, Upper Moreland High School, Warren Hills High School, and Wilson Area High School.
This competition is in collaboration with a music-in-education program between ArtsQuest and Moravian University’s Music Department’s Jazz Studies Program. The competition will be split between five events over the course of February and March. The dates and times are as follows: Sunday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 26 at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m., and Sunday, March 19 at 2 p.m.
About ArtsQuest
ArtsQuest’s mission is to provide access to exceptional artistic, cultural and educational experiences using arts and culture as key elements of economic development for our urban communities. ArtsQuest™ supports this mission via the presentation of performing and visual arts, film, arts education classes and outreach, youth programming and cultural events. Through festivals such as its flagship event, Musikfest; the Banana Factory Arts Center; and the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks arts and cultural campus, ArtsQuest’s programming reaches more than 1.9 million people annually. The organization’s programs and events, approximately 50% of which are free to attend, have a combined economic impact of more than $136 million annually in the region.
