An Osceola County student band is headed to the most prestigious high school jazz event in the country, but in order to get there they must raise enough funds.

  • Osceola School for the Arts jazz band trying to get to New York City
  • 1 of only 15 selected for Essentially Ellington Competition
  • Band needs $32,000 for the trip

Some say jazz is a dying genre. But for musician Axel Uri: "It's so different from any kind of music, it's a democracy."

Uri, a junior at Osceola School for the Arts, feels jazz is unique and needs to stay alive.

"It's really a form of self-expression,” Uri said. “And to be able to share the story of America within one genre of music is just something beautiful."

The jazz ensemble he is part of at school will be hitting up New York City for the Essentially Ellington Competition. They're one of only 15 bands in all of North America to attend this year.

"And those top 15 bands go to NYC and compete for top 3,” said Gabriel Logrono, a senior who plays the saxophone. “So it's this really big competition that out of the 100 bands that audition, they select 15."  

But getting here wasn't easy.

"We worked so hard and try to get to the place we're at right now," said vocalist Rosse Martinez "We were all so happy that our hard work paid off."

These 25 students are in need of $32,000 for the trip. So far, the band is more than $7,000 short of reaching their goal.

"You know we fundraise, we go out and play places,” Logrono said. “It's a huge exposure to different aspects of what this music is and how we should be exposed to it."

Uri said he hopes to continue studying music once he graduates, perhaps at Southeastern University.

"I feel like I could really express who I am through the music, spread that onto others," he saidd.

Students will be performing in NYC on May 13.

The event will be streamed live on the Jazz.org website. For donations, the band has a GoFundMe page.

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