KHS musicians show out at jazz festival

KELLOGG – Students in Kellogg High School’s jazz choir were recently recognized as one of the best groups in the region after winning at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho.  

KHS Performing Arts Director Adam Ream has had a steady run of success at the festival, for both the choir and the school’s jazz band. This year marked the jazz choir’s second win since 2023, while the jazz band won in 2022 and 2024.  

Ream further explained that the competition component of the festival is broken up into three classifications, all based on school size. His jazz band and choir compete, and win, in the festival’s smallest division, or schools with 499 students or less. Kellogg High School currently has an enrollment of 268 students.  

This year, 79 schools, representing seven states and Canada, participated at the festival, spending three days performing, attending workshops, clinics, and enjoying concerts from premier jazz artists, including this year’s performances by Take6, the Jeff Hamilton Trio, and the Lionel Hampton Big Band. 

KHS junior Timothy Baugh was awarded outstanding musician in the jazz band for his work as the band’s lead trumpet.  

“I'm really proud of all of the hard work they put into this school year,” Ream said of his students.” “Especially when the semester started with a long-term sub.”  

The festival, which is nearing its 60th anniversary, began as a single-day event but has grown into a three-day jazz destination that attracts hundreds of students to Moscow each year in April.    

The festival is named after American jazz musician Lionel Hampton, who is also the namesake of the University of Idaho’s school of music. Hampton, who passed away in 2002, said having a music festival and music school named after him was one of the greatest honors he ever received.