By Roberta Clayton
The Raleigh area has a well-developed youth music program that began over thirty years ago with the formation of the Triangle Youth Philharmonic, a group of thirty-five high school students who rose to perform full-length concerts at a professional level. Additional tiers of programming have included the Triangle Youth Symphony, Triangle Youth Orchestra, Triangle Youth String Orchestra, and Triangle Youth String Sinfonia.
Then, in 2005, the Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble was formed. Today’s award-winning Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble (TYJE) is based in Raleigh under the direction of Dr. Gregg Gelb. TYJE is for advanced musicians in grades 8 – 12 who want to develop the skills to perform a wide range of jazz compositions. The ensemble provides the opportunity for members to study and perform the best of big band jazz in a professional setting. TYJE has a variety of performance opportunities. Students meet weekly for a two-hour rehearsal and also meet in smaller sections regularly outside of the weekly rehearsal.
TYJE has earned the Outstanding Community Band Award ten years in a row since 2012 at the North Carolina Regional Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Festival at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The 2015-16 Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble was selected to go to the finals in New York City in the national competition, Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington Festival, and earned second place out of an original field of 92 ensembles. They are the first and only group from North Carolina selected for this honor. Since 2015, they have been selected as finalists six times.
Sarah Whitney, Executive Director of the Philharmonic Association/Triangle Youth Music, helped fill in the gap caused by Covid. She explained that during the early months of the pandemic, rehearsals were held virtually. TYJE had already qualified for Essentially Ellington that year, so instead of having the opportunity to travel to New York City together, they received some coaching from Jazz at Lincoln Center staff online. The band created several Zoom recordings with Dr. Gelb that spring. He arranged music specifically for them to perform online, one of which featured Branford Marsalis, who lives in Durham.
That Marsalis connection is a top-tier credential. Says Dr. Gelb, “It’s the other things we all learned and experienced that are still burning in our blood. The effect of Branford’s brother, Pulitzer Prize winner Wynton Marsalis, on all of us is amazing. He is so generous of his time, teaching, and sharing of his ideas and experience. He and his co-workers are developing so many fine young musicians, not only to become fine musicians but good all-around people. When he speaks, he does convey how to make us better musicians but he always includes what it means and what it takes to be a better person. He is a terrific example for all of us. He leads a great band, writes fine music, is a top advocate for jazz, and he knows how to sustain and propel a cultural organization. I love how Jazz at Lincoln Center is encouraging young people to write original music. The winners of the young composer’s awards are incredible. Their music was played by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and it was some of the best we heard.”
Dr. Gelb has a broad vision of the value of the experience. “What we are all doing is making a better community. Jazz is able to forge a better community because it is dependent upon communication. Maybe we shouldn’t call Essentially Ellington a competition/festival; it is more like an appreciation. We go and listen to others play and teach; we get inspired by them. We work on ourselves; we get better. We associate with all types of people. It is a democratic process in which each individual is free to express themselves but done in a mutually respectful environment.”
In the fall of 2020, auditions for the band were held virtually in August. Rehearsals resumed in September in a local park shelter. Students were distanced, with playing masks and bell covers. Their fall concert was pre-recorded and was edited together with the Philharmonic Association’s other jazz bands. The recording was presented on Facebook Live so that everyone could watch at the same time and make comments. Last spring, they continued to rehearse outside and were able to hold an outdoor performance at the Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary, NC. Last fall, students again rehearsed outside, distanced and masked, until the weather got too cold. They then moved into a space at Theatre Raleigh for a month, and are now back rehearsing at their original space at North Carolina State University.
Now the Essentially Ellington program will be live again, and our local youth will be there hoping to bring home the honors once more. This trip will be a highlight of the year for a score of local youth who will visit New York City for five days. Students and families are responsible for their own fundraising for this trip. They hold fundraising performances, while also welcoming contributions from family and friends. The organization sells Triangle Youth Jazz tee-shirts and hosts a raffle. Funding for the organizations comes from many businesses, foundations, and individuals, through: https://philharmonic-association.org/contribute/ which is a 501(c)3 non-profit. And here is your link to learn of upcoming performances: https://philharmonic-association.org/events/.
Let’s meet one participant whose dedication sets him apart at a young age. Payton Salmonson is a senior at Holly Springs High School. He was looking sharp in his tuxedo at the spring adjudications with the classical wind ensemble directed by Michael Biasi, held at Fuquay-Varina High School toward the end of March. The joy was palpable when it was announced that they had scored straight Superiors, with As across the board. Payton also plays in the jazz ensemble and in the marching band, for which he is the Drum Major. Music has come to dominate all the focus of Payton’s activities. His main instrument is alto saxophone, but he also plays clarinet and flute. He has participated in scouting, church, sports, theater, and his fast-food job.
Payton’s father, Jim, recalls, “During his expedition to hike the Philmont Scouting Ranch in NM, he was nominated by his peers to be the Crew Leader on the expedition. This included organizing the crew, assigning duties, making decisions, and recognizing capabilities of the individuals and crew as a whole. He was certainly respected by his crew in which a couple of the members were college participants. What was astounding to the adults beyond earning the respect of his crew and them having a great time was that he spent hours on the trail hiking and explaining music theory in a way to the other guys that was engaging. They ‘hiked’ away with a better appreciation for wanting to dig into their music abilities. He certainly knows how to use the Scout method of EDGE—Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, and Enable.”
Excerpts from Payton’s college admission essay say it best.
“Music has captivated me throughout my entire life. In elementary school, I admired my father, a drummer, as he performed with various bands. As I grew older, my parents provided my sister and me with piano lessons to inspire an appreciation of music within us. When I reached middle school, my parents encouraged me to join the band program, where I took up the saxophone and found even greater joy in music.
“As I entered high school, I was quickly introduced to how much more music could be than just a hobby or pastime. The students my school sent to college to study music absolutely astonished me, in terms of their abilities and the passion they displayed for the art. At this time, I was also participating in a local jazz ensemble, whose goal was to introduce students like me to big band music. Both as a performer and a listener, I was captivated by how different this music was from what I had studied. It felt more artistic, creative, and free than the classical music I had been introduced to earlier. This is when I realized that I wanted to spend my life with music, not just as a hobby, but as my greatest ambition.
“When I realized music would be my future, I began looking at different career paths. As the Drum Major, I realized that I enjoyed leading new students and began thinking about teaching. Then, I attended a jazz camp over the summer and worked with music professors. That experience set my eyes on college level teaching. This way, I could explore music from a performance, theory, or history perspective. I understood that this aspiration would require an extremely high degree of education, and so I set my eyes on that goal.
“I began speaking with my directors about this dream. I took up the bass guitar to better understand string instruments, and I learned the basics of recording and performing musical genres outside of those taught in band class. I also began studying the clarinet, which was especially prominent in the swing music I was performing outside of school. Just this past year, I began to study the flute as another aid in jazz performance. The pursuit of each of these instruments, alongside my continuous advancement in saxophone and piano, has only grown my appreciation and passion for music in general and jazz specifically.
“With my love for music I have decided to study it at the graduate level and seek a doctoral degree pertaining to music education. I would love to teach music at the college level, while simultaneously continuing my personal study of the art. Music has made me more responsible and driven, but most importantly music has given me a community and a constant source of inspiration.”
Payton has been accepted at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Music Program, and their Pre-Master of Arts in Teaching. His career goal is to instruct at the college level, so he understands he will have to start at lower grade levels and continue his education with multiple degrees in music, teaching, and performance.
The TYJE experience and Payton’s drive to excel make our community a better place for all of us to live.
