Pascack Valley High School’s Jazz Band, led by Craig Yaremko, has made multiple accomplishments this school year. One of them is qualifying for the state finals this Saturday, April 25. 

The path to the finals began back in October, when the band prepared three complex pieces for the Jazz at Lincoln Center international competition. While they weren’t selected for the New York City finals, the process of transforming their rehearsal space into a recording studio and receiving feedback from professional artists was very rewarding.

In March, the band traveled to West Orange for the state preliminaries, competing against over 60 bands from across New Jersey. The PV Jazz Band was chosen as a finalist. Qualifying for the state finals is very difficult, and Pascack Valley has done it for the past three years. 

“Many other schools have jazz band as a class, where they meet every day, but here at PV, we only get to meet once a week,” Yaremko said. “Despite our lack of time, the band does such an outstanding job of making great music.” 

This is one of the PV Jazz Band’s biggest obstacles: finding time for everyone to practice and perfect their performances.

“Everybody’s always active in their life, especially at PV. The biggest challenge is always just trying to get every student together in a room and being able to attend rehearsals,” Yaremko said.

“I think one of the biggest parts I love about that competition process is that students get to hear their peers playing this music at a really high level,” Yaremko said.

Despite the difficulty of competing against very skilled schools, band members still earn multiple awards.

“In the past, we’ve done really well, [with] many students getting soloist recognition. In jazz band[s] there are usually sections with saxophones, trumpets, trombones, etc., and so they recognize outstanding sections and outstanding performers,” Yaremko said. 

For instance, last year, senior and lead trumpet player Carolyn Veit won an outstanding soloist award at the state finals. PV’s senior class is very strong, with many of them pursuing future careers in music.

Mia Vasquez is a senior and lead vocalist and bass player who stepped up in September to play bass. She is able to sing and play simultaneously, which requires a large amount of skill and focus.

Ming Yang Qin is a senior and the lead alto and soprano saxophonist who is highly skilled and experienced in jazz.

“Ming Yang is truly able to speak the jazz language really well,” Yaremko said. 

Brady Viola and Jonathan Lee are both seniors in the PV Jazz Band and play a very important role as drummers and the “foundation” of the band.

“I think our senior leadership is what really stands out and hopefully inspires lots of others in the band, especially since there are so many talented students,” Yaremko said.

PV is going to do their very best at finals this weekend; although, for the band, it’s not about winning these competitions, but the experience gained from them. 

“While we have some really skilled performers, I always say we go for vibe over virtuosity, so while we might not have a technically flawless performance, the vibe and spirit [are] what we bring,” Yaremko said.

What’s most important to the PV Jazz Band is not their score or ranking, but the experience itself. So long as everyone’s playing with their best effort, that’s what the band defines as a successful performance.

“A successful performance to me is one that hits the audience emotionally,” Yaremko said. “There’s always going to be times during a performance when there are mistakes, and most of the time the audience doesn’t even notice those mistakes, and I think that’s what I try to really stress is that I play music because it makes me feel good, and I hope that my students play music because it makes them feel something.” 

Beyond the trophies and titles, PV Jazz Band emphasizes community. To Yaremko, enjoying what you play is much more important than winning. 

“We’re also playing very challenging music, some of it [being at a] professional level. I think that even if we don’t win, it’s a great experience and our band will do an amazing job,” Yaremko said. 

No matter the outcome of the state finals, the PV Jazz Band season will not end. They will be performing at multiple other events, including the Teen Arts Festival at Bergen Community College on May 29, the PV Fashion Show on April 30, the Hillsdale Library on May 2, the River Vale Farmers Market on June 4, and the Hillsdale Art and Music Festival on June 6. 

“This season has been great, this is a very strong jazz band, and I am very happy with what we’ve done so far,” Yaremko said.