The Knoxville High School Jazz Band Department continues building success and director Zach Collins is featured on today’s Let’s Talk Knoxville.

This school year, the Knoxville Jazz One group received a division one rating at the state contest for the second time in a row and earned first place at the SCIBA Jazz Festival in mid-December, which qualified them for the State Jazz Championships for the first time in 33 years. The jazz band will also be competing three times in the next two weeks, including the UNI Tall Corn Jazz Festival today, the Indianola Paul McKee Jazz Festival this Saturday and the Ballard Jazz Festival next Saturday. Collins tells KNIA/KRLS that the jazz band gives his students a challenging experience to compete at a high level.

“For us in particular, what the kids have the opportunity to be a part of is an ensemble that is performing at or near the highest level possible for a high school jazz ensemble. They have an opportunity to play music that is more challenging than what they would experience in concert band and take their efforts to a more competitive stage is a really great experience that a smaller portion of our students have a desire for.”

The Iowa Jazz Championships will be held in Ames at the beginning of April.