Participants between 10 and 19 years old submitted short audition pieces no longer than five minutes and judges evaluated their work based on musicianship, excellence, talent and creativity.
First place went to Alex Nishi, a 17-year-old student from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School who plays guitar. His fellow schoolmate, 14-year-old Corey Parmenter, took runner-up honors for his drum composition.
Nathan Grotenhuis, a 12-year-old from Goleta who plays piano, snapped up third place. Honorable mention awards went to Noah Weitz, 13, from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School; and Sofia Caciola, 9, from Los Olivos Elementary School.
In addition to receiving financial assistance to further their musical career, the five winners will be acknowledged during an educational concert prior to the jazz festival, which runs from September 24 to 26.
A festival concert titled “New Voices” will feature local student performers as well, including solo performances by the first-place winners of the student competition from the past three years. Slated for September 26 from noon to 3 p.m. in the Solvang Festival Theater, the concert will feature the Dos Pueblos Jazz Combo, the Cabrillo High School Jazz Band, the Dunn School Jazz Band and the Santa Ynez Valley Jazz Band.
Admission is free, although donations to the Universal Guild for Jazz and Progressive Music are welcome. More information on the festival and tickets are available at www.solvangjazz.com.