(Clockwise from left) Montgomery County Community College High School Jazz Festival event clinician Maxfield Gast, event adjudicator Matthew Gallagher, and event clinician Marc Dicciani. The College will host the event Saturday, Feb. 28 in the theater at Montco Cultural Center on the Blue Bell Campus. It will feature performances from seven high school jazz bands across Bucks and Montgomery counties. Photos courtesy of Maxfield Gast, Matthew Gallagher and Marc Dicciani
Seven high school jazz bands from across Bucks and Montgomery counties will come together for an exciting day of performances and friendly competition at Montgomery County Community College.
MCCC will host a High School Jazz Festival, Saturday, Feb. 28 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the theater at Montco Cultural Center, Science Center on the Blue Bell Campus, 1313 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. The event is open to all and parking is free.
Admission is $10 and $5 for students presenting a school ID. Children 4 and under are free. Tickets will be sold at the event. Food will also be available for purchase. Cash or Venmo will be accepted.
High school bands participating in the festival include Abington Friends School, Hatboro-Horsham High School, LaSalle College High School, North Penn High School, Pennsbury High School, Souderton Area High School and Wissahickon High School.
“This festival has been three years in the making, and we are thrilled to welcome all these talented musicians, band directors, and their families for an afternoon of great jazz music and education. This event also provides us with an opportunity to showcase our exceptional music faculty, facilities, and the outstanding music program here at Montco,” said Dr. Patricia McEnery, Assistant Dean of Liberal Arts. “We will even be closing out the day with a finale performance by "Package" a jazz-funk trio featuring Montco's own Howard Gordon, Assistant Professor of Sound Recording and Music Technology.”
Adjudicating the event is Matthew Gallagher. Gallagher is enjoying a career as one of the most sought-after lead trumpet players in Philadelphia and the East Coast. Gallagher earned his undergraduate degree in music education from West Chester University in 1997 and earned a Master of Music degree in jazz studies from the University of the Arts in 2001.
Gallagher is the prototypical lead trumpet player with extensive credits with professional bands and orchestras up and down the East Coast. He has performed with several Broadway show productions and artists including “The Philadelphia Orchestra,” “The Boston Symphony,” “The Baltimore Symphony,” “Peter Nero and the Philly Pops,” Diana Krall, Hugh Jackman, Michael Bublé, Jamie Cullum, Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Randy Brecker, “The Temptations,” “The Four Tops,” Lou Rawls, Bernadette Peters, “The O’Jays,” “The Stylistics,” “Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes,” Teddy Pendergrass, and many others.
Gallagher is currently the principal trumpet player for “The Philly Pops” and has been a featured lead trumpet player with “The Philadelphia Orchestra.” In addition, he is a studio lead trumpet player at NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, N.J., and has recorded for Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, R. Kelly, Jennifer Hudson, and LL Cool J. In 2010, Gallagher formed “The Philly Big Band” where he is featured as both a soloist and lead trumpet player.
Marc Dicciani and Maxfield Gast will serve as event clinicians.
Dicciani is currently an adjunct faculty member in the Wells School of Music at West Chester University of PA. Prior to that, for more than 30 years he was a Full Professor of Drum Set and Music Business at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, during which he also served as Director of the School of Music and Dean of the College of Performing Arts. He continues to be a busy international performer, educator, clinician, and researcher with dozens of international concert dates and clinics throughout the year.
Dicciani was recently honored as the recipient of the prestigious Drumset Education Legacy Award presented by Yamaha Drums at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. In February 2020, he was selected as the Artist-in-Residence at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in their Health Design Lab MEDiA (Medicine intersecting Art) Residency Program to research drumming and virtual and augmented reality to help rehabilitate the physically disabled and those with neurological, neurodevelopmental, or emotional disabilities. Dicciani was recently selected as a member of the Scholarly Research Committee of the international Percussive Arts Society. His first peer-reviewed research paper on Handedness in drumming, titled “Handedness: Are Drummers Right Handed or Left Handed? They Are Neither and Both!” was published in April 2024 in the Percussive Notes Online Research Edition.
Dicciani has been with the Grammy organization (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) for more than 30 years as Philadelphia Board Member, Chapter President, and member of the National Board of Trustees where he also chaired a national committee on intellectual property. In addition, he was the Chair of the Board of Directors and Head of the Education Committee of the Philadelphia Music Alliance, an organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Philadelphia's rich musical legacy.
Dicciani is a drum set artist/clinician for, and is endorsed by Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drum Sticks, Remo Drum Heads, Latin Percussion, MONO Cases, and writes for Modern Drummer, Drum Club, Planet Drum webzine, Percussive Arts Society (PAS), and In-Concert magazines.
Philadelphia native Maxfield Gast is widely recognized for his performances as a saxophonist, independent artist, composer and music producer. Gast has released over a dozen albums and singles as a solo artist and his music can be heard in featured films, television series and on the radio. Gast has recorded and collaborated on over 75 albums together with artists across the US and abroad.
Gast’s sound is a combination of genres including elements of jazz, pop, rock, hip hop, electronica, soul and experimental music. His unique and eclectic music gained national attention on college radio charts early in his career. Gast’s streaming catalog has since accrued over 1 million streams, reaching 172 countries, and has been featured in over 1,500 playlists. Other notable accomplishments include licensing deals with MTV and Sony Classic Films, a publishing deal with a New York-based music house and features in Downbeat Magazine, Rolling Stone, Jazz Weekly and WXPN’s “The High Key Portrait Series.” As a member of “SweetPro,” Gast additionally composed and performed the music for all five seasons of FX Network’s original series “Louie.” The series earned a Peabody Award and multiple Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe awards. Time Magazine rated “Louie” the no. 1 television series of 2011.
Gast has performed at numerous prestigious venues including New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center and has performed internationally at countless music festivals across the world. He has worked alongside a variety of Grammy Award winning artists and produces music under his Philadelphia-based music production company and record label “Militia Hill.”