Jazz Band

Jazz Band at FRC is offered at three levels:

- Junior Jazz

 The focus of the Junior Jazz Ensemble is to continue to build skills in various jazz styles and to continue to build improvisation techniques.  Students enrolled in this course also participate in a beginning study of the history of jazz music and a study of professional performers in the jazz idiom, both past and present.

- Intermediate Jazz

 The focus of the Intermediate Jazz Ensemble is to continue to build skills in various jazz styles and to continue to build improvisation techniques.  Students enrolled in this course also participate in a further study of the history of jazz music and a study of professional performers in the jazz idiom, both past and present.
 
 Students in this ensemble will play music that is more advanced than that of the Junior Jazz Band and will be expected to reach a higher level of performance.  Students in the Intermediate Jazz Band have been performing at National Finals at MusicFest Canada for decades.

- Senior Jazz

The focus of the Senior Jazz Ensemble is to continue to build skills in various jazz styles and to continue to build improvisation techniques. Students enrolled in this course also participate in a further study of the history of jazz music and a study of professional performers in the jazz idiom, both past and present.
 
Students in this ensemble will play music that is of the highest level written, including original charts written for professional big bands. Students in the Senior Jazz Band have upheld an uncontested record at National Finals at MusicFest Canada for decades, with an unparalleled level of Gold Medal ratings. The students in the Senior Jazz band often get special opportunities to perform at various venues, including fundraising concerts for local charities, performing with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, and providing music for many of the school's most important functions.

In the first three weeks of school, students from all grades audition for available positions in the Senior, Intermediate, and Junior Jazz Bands. All three groups perform in concerts, festivals, and dances throughout the school year. The Junior Jazz Band also performs and engages in clinics on the annual Grade 10 Concert Band tour.