Embedded Files
Berks County All Star Jazz Band
Berks County is lucky enough to have an audition based county all star ensemble. Students from any of our 18 public school districts are able to audition on a traditional big band instrument with the goal of being accepted into the Berks County All Star Jazz Band. Typically around 20 players in total and under the guidance of a guest director, the students hone a small selection of music to be played at two or more public concerts, often during the Reading Jazz Festival every spring. If you are interested in auditioning for the ensemble, please read below. If you have any questions about the county jazz band, please email the director in charge:
Nathan Mohler; Muhlenberg High School, mohlern@muhlsdk12.net
Audition Requirements
Audition Requirements
PART A – PREPARED UP-TEMPO SELECTION:
All prepared selections for saxophone, trumpet, trombone, guitar, piano, bass and vibes will be performed with CD accompaniment from Effective Etudes for Jazz by Mike Carubia and Jeff Jarvis.
ALL SAXES: “It’s Nobody For Me”
TRUMPET: “Blue Note Blues”
TROMBONE: “It’s From Heaven”
GUITAR: “Dido”
PIANO/VIBES: “The Moon is High” (left hand piano – comp in an appropriate style; vibes comp as able)
BASS: “Keep Smilin”
DRUMS: Play along with the following tracks from John Riley’s book The Art of Bop Drumming. Catch all written figures and provide appropriate comping throughout each example. (Please follow the performance instructions in the book.)
“Last Week” page 65
“What is this Thing Called?” page 66
VOCALISTS: Perform one ballad and one up-tempo selection using CD accompaniment (Jamey Aebersold, etc.)
PART B – PREPARED BALLAD SELECTION
for all but drums and vocalists
All instruments except bass, drums, and vocalists:
3. – “(My) Foolish Heart” from All-Time Standards by Jamey Aebersold, Volume 25.
Selection is going to be performed with CD Accompaniment one time through the melody. Students should feel free to embellish the melody to show musicianship.
BASS PLAYERS ONLY: Play the first four choruses (128 bars total) of Come Rain Or Shine from Jamey Aebersold’s Steve Gilmore Bass Lines from Volume 25 (All-Time Standards), with accompaniment CD.
(Play along is to Jamey Aebersold’s All-Time Standards book – Volume 25,CD 2 – Track 4.)
PART C – IMPROVISATION
for all but vocalists
“6. – Eb Blues (Dr. Jay)” with CD Accompaniment from Blues In All Keys, Jamey Aebersold, Volume 42
All Saxes, Trumpets, Trombones, Bass
Play two choruses of improvisation.
Guitar, Piano, Vibes
Comp the first chorus and solo the next two choruses.
Drums
Play one chorus of time and one chorus with two-measure solo breaks.
PART D – EXCERPTS
Students auditioning on trumpet and trombone will have a chance to display their abilities playing lead parts or a bass trombone part. This is not a mandatory part of the audition, but it is strongly encouraged for students interested in playing the lead part on trumpet or trombone, as well as bass trombone.
Upcoming Dates
Upcoming Dates
Audition: Monday February 2, 2026
Starts at 4:30 PM
Held at Muhlenberg High School
Rehearsal 1: Saturday February 14, 2026
8:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Held at Muhlenberg High School
Rehearsal 2: Saturday March 14, 2026
8:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Held at Muhlenberg High School
All Day Rehearsal: Monday March 23, 2026
8:30 AM to 2:30 PM
Held at Muhlenberg High School
Gig 1: TBA
Time TBD
Location TBD
Gig 2 - Opening for Berks Sinfonietta: Saturday March 28, 2026
7:00 PM; 5:00 Sound Check
Miller Center
Page updated
Report abuse