LAS VEGAS - DownBeat Magazine, host of the annual DownBeat Awards - considered the most prestigious music honors nationally in the field of jazz education - recently recognized UNLV Jazz Ensemble I as one of the nation's best for Graduate College Large Ensemble Outstanding Performance, sharing the honor with the University of Miami Studio Jazz Band.
The awards, officially known as the "Student Music Awards," were announced in DownBeat's June edition, released April 27 and presented in 15 categories and five separate divisions (junior high, high school, performing high school, college and graduate college). This year's DownBeat competition drew a total of 856 ensemble and individual entries for all categories in all five divisions.
"Winning a DownBeat SMA Award is a milestone achievement for our program," said Dave Loeb, Director of Jazz Studies and Jazz Ensembles at UNLV. "It is one of the highest possible awards a college jazz program can receive and we are extremely proud of our talented students."
DownBeat magazine established the new graduate college division this year to differentiate between universities offering only undergraduate degrees and institutions that also bestow masters and doctoral degrees. Fifteen of the 17 members in the current UNLV award-winning jazz ensemble are undergraduates.
The selection method for the DownBeat magazine SMA awards is impartial, with recordings identified only with an encoded number to ensure complete fairness in the judging process. As a result, the judges do not know what school they are reviewing.
"Our gifted students never cease to amaze me with their dedication and commitment to musical excellence and I am honored to have the opportunity to work with them," Loeb said. "I am thrilled that UNLV won this honor without bias competing against exceptional jazz programs worldwide. This places UNLV in the category of widely respected jazz education institutions, such as the University of North Texas and the University of Miami who are icons in jazz education, and should make prospective students aware of the quality musical education that is available through the UNLV Department of Music."
Leading the UNLV Jazz Studies Program since 2002, Loeb has guided the UNLV jazz students to a number of individual and ensemble honors at prestigious festivals including the Reno Jazz Festival and the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival.
"It is a pleasure working with my new colleague, UNLV graduate Nathan Tanouye, Assistant Director of UNLV Jazz Ensembles and musical arranger of the submitted material, whose contribution was absolutely essential to our success," Loeb said. "In addition, I am grateful for the steadfast support that makes this possible from UNLV President Neal Smatresk, College of Fine Arts Dean Jeffrey Koep, Chairman of UNLV Department of Music Jonathan Good, The Joe Williams Every Day Foundation, The Liberace Foundation, The Jake Garehime Scholarship Fund, The Jay Morrison Jazz Scholarship Fund, The William and Carol McLeod Scholarship Fund, The Las Vegas Jazz Society, The UNLV Jazz Studies Advisory Board, our generous donors and the Las Vegas community."
