Mission Bay High School’s award-winning Preservationists Jazz Band will hold a fundraising concert at the La Jolla Women’s Club, 7791 Draper Ave., from 7-9 p.m., on Feb. 22. Proceeds from the event will support the band on its Biennial San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Goodwill Delegation Tour in April, where the band has been selected to perform and represent San Diego for the 65th Anniversary of Sister City relations between San Diego and Yokohama, Japan.
To help the students meet their goal of raising $15,000 for the trip, the Mission Bay Band Boosters and young musicians have planned an evening of jazz, food, a silent auction, and more at the historic La Jolla Women’s Club. Tickets will be available at the door and for purchase from band members. The San Diego-Yokohama Sister City (SDYSC) has offered to help raise the other half of the needed trip funds for a total of $30,000. Sponsorship opportunities and cash donations are also welcome. More information can be found at missionbaymusic.com.
Stephanie Zavala-Lemarroy is the senior violinist for the Preservationists who started her violin career with Suzuki classes in kindergarten at Crown Point Elementary and continued playing at PBMS. She is looking forward to the trip to Japan and representing Mission Bay High School.
“I am excited to play in new venues and make memories with the band. I learn something new from each performance, and this helps me grow as a musician,” Zavala-Lemarroy said. “Playing in different countries and meeting professional musicians inspires me to keep practicing, and it inspires the band to reach our full potential.”
In Yokohama, the Preservationists will serve as cultural ambassadors and perform at prominent venues including the Yokohama Landmark Tower Plaza, Sankeien Garden, Osanbashi Pier, and many historic jazz cafes. Later in the spring, Mission Bay High School Music will host Japanese students, teachers, administrators, and elected officials in San Diego. Zavala-Lemarroy is excited to host jazz musicians from Japan at Mission Bay to show them “our music program,” and to rehearse and perform locally with them while they are here.
“Our program is nationally known, which sets a very high standard for our students, and motivates kids to work hard in school, graduate, and continue their education,” said Jean-Paul Bal-mat, Mission Bay High School’s music director. “The once-in-a-lifetime trip to Japan will cultivate cultural depth and professional horizons for the young high school musicians as they prepare for the next chapter in their adult lives.”
Since 2015, MBHS Music has become a stalwart supporter of the sister city program and has become essential in efforts to strengthen ties between the two cities. Yokohama has a long history of being a hub for western cultural influence in Japan, introducing jazz throughout the 1920s and flourishing in the postwar period of American military presence in the region.
“The exchange program helps the kids become better global citizens, providing them intercultural skills that will allow them to make the most of future international opportunities in business, their professions of choice or public service in an increasingly interconnected world,” said Steven Sigafus, president, SDYSC. “Our goal is to connect youth and foster friendship to build lasting understanding.”
The Preservationists, known as one of the nation’s finest traditional youth jazz bands, continue a tradition of more than 30 years of music at Mission Bay, a magnet high school in Pacific Beach.
Ava Strickland, a senior, is a member of the Swing Choir and performs with the Preservationists. Strickland attended Pacific Beach schools from kindergarten through to MBHS.
“I have been singing since before I can remember, but it was performing for the first time in third grade – in my first musical – when I realized singing was what I wanted to keep doing the rest of my life,” Strickland said. “Singing, when everything is going exactly how it should, is a feeling I can’t quite describe.”
The Preservationists have performed at Preservation Hall, WWOZ Radio and the Old US Mint Performance Hall (New Orleans), the Sacramento Music Festival, San Diego Jazz Festival, TEDx San Diego, House of Blues, Jazz Education Network Conference, KUSI News, Fox 5 News, and KSDS Jazz 88.3-FM (San Diego), and more.
For more information on the concert, visit missionbaymusic.com. Tickets cost $20 per person. In addition to ticket sales, the students are looking to fund their trip with event sponsors and donations.
