This Saturday, West High’s Jazz Ensemble woke up bright and early for a trip to Urbandale High School. The Urbandale Jazz Colloquium is an event that features a number of high school jazz bands from around Iowa. Each jazz band gets the chance to listen to other high school bands, perform on stage and have a session with a clinician.

“I thought it was good to hear some of the other bands. It really showed how some other school’s programs differ from ours,” said Will Ross ’11, a member of Jazz Ensemble.

West High’s Jazz Ensemble had a clinic with Chris Mertz, the jazz professor from the University of Northern Iowa. Jazz Ensemble members really enjoyed his clinic.” He had a lot of very helpful advice, and made it a low-pressure environment, which is always a plus,” said Joe Henderson ‘12, a member of Jazz Ensemble.