It’s unlike any competition you’re used to on the field. Tomorrow, several high schools in the listening area will compete at the South Central Iowa Bandmasters Association Jazz Festival in Norwalk and Waukee.

SCIBA Jazz Festival is the first competition for many high schools to qualify for the Iowa Jazz Championships held in April 2013 in Des Moines. The top two bands in each class (1A-4A) are automatic qualifiers and 3rd place is a wild card.

Area bands competing include Dallas Center-Grimes, Ogden, Woodward-Granger and Van Meter. Ogden Band Director Nate Newhard says the last time they qualified for the Iowa Jazz Champions was in 2011 as a wild card.

Greene County High School will be unable to attend this year’s festival but band director Becky Greiner explains that there are other Iowa Jazz Championship qualifiers that they travel to every year.  The next competition is scheduled at Simpson College in February.

In total, there will be 31 bands at Waukee High School and 21 bands at Norwalk High School, all fighting for the chance to perform in Des Moines. For a complete list of when and where the area schools play tomorrow.

School schedule – all to perform in the Norwalk Auditorium

Van Meter (8 AM)

Woodward-Granger (8:24 AM)

Ogden (9:12 AM)

Dallas Center-Grimes 2 (11:12 AM)

Dallas Center-Grimes 1 (2:48 PM)