The Hickory Creek Middle School Jazz Band recently participated in a special Jazz Festival.  After school, students from the Jazz Band took part in a clinic with Dr. Robert Lark, the Director of Jazz Studies at DePaul University. The entire Tiger Jazz Band also participated in a clinic with Ben Clark, Lincoln-Way East High School Jazz Director.                     

The clinic was sponsored by the Yamaha Corporation and by Quinlan and Fabish. The Hickory Creek Middle School Band Booster organization sponsored the bus transportation costs for the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble.              

In the evening, the community was invited to a Jazz Concert featuring the Hickory Creek Middle School Jazz Band under the direction of Dana Shoemaker and Doug Adams.  Several selections were also performed by the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Robert Clark and the Lincoln-Way East Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Ben Clark.               

The DePaul University Jazz Ensemble is one of fourteen student jazz groups at the university, performing several times throughout the year and participating in an annual recording project.  The recordings have earned a number of awards and have often featured legendary jazz artists performing with the students and faculty.