Jazz One and Packer Jazz — the two upperclassmen big bands at Austin High School — traveled to Minneapolis last weekend and took part in jazz clinics at Augsburg College and the MacPhail Center for Music.

On Feb. 26, the two ensembles participated in the Augsburg JazzFest, where they performed for a panel of judges and also attended performances by other jazz bands. A highlight of the festival was an evening concert featuring world-renowned trumpeter Bria Skonberg. She is currently one of the nation’s most in-demand solo artists.

The two ensembles traveled to the MacPhail Center for Music on Feb. 27, where they were critiqued on a variety of music by MacPhail jazz faculty. This was the first performance by an Austin ensemble at MacPhail’s flagship headquarters in Minneapolis since the organization opened its first outstate location in Austin this past fall. MacPhail is the nation’s largest non-profit music school, offering classes and lessons to children and adults of all ages.

These two events followed closely on the heels of the successful Paramount Jazz. The fourth annual jazz concert was the best attended and featured guest artist Scott Agster on trombone, a faculty member from the McNally Smith College of Music.

The AHS Jazz program is directed by Bradley Mariska.