Litchfield Jazz Camp Announces Talent Search Winners

By DownBeat I Mar. 5, 2024

First-place winner Conor McMillen, 16, in performance March 2 at the Litchfield Community Center.
(Photo: Courtesy Litchfield Performing Arts)

Litchfield Performing Arts held its first Litchfield Jazz Camp Talent Search Competition in 28 years on March 2 at the Litchfield Community Center. Twenty-one finalists ages 13 to 17 competed for Litchfield Jazz Camp scholarships. The first-place prize, a $2,000 scholarship, went to 16-year-old violinist Conor McMillen from New York City.

Second place, a $1,000 scholarship, went to guitarist Josephine Roses, 13, also from New York. The third-place winner, pianist Isaiah Cross, 17, from New Haven, Connecticut, also received a $1,000 scholarship. Two $250 Honorable Mention awards went to drummer Benjamin Sirignano, 16, from Greenwich, Connecticut, and pianist Mihira Tangelloju, 13, from Louisville, Kentucky.

An audience of 95 friends, family and community members enjoyed the music-making from 2 to 6 p.m., when, after a playoff round, the winners were announced.

Players were given a song list of a dozen jazz standards to choose from. The top pick was “All The Things You Are,” with “Autumn Leaves” a close second. According to the judges, each young artist put a different spin on these jazz favorites.

The finalists, chosen on the basis of a short video clip, were treated to a world-class backup band that included pianist Zaccai Curtis, bassist Conway Campbell and drummer Ian Carroll, all members of the Litchfield Jazz Camp faculty. Both Curtis and Campbell were Litchfield Jazz Campers in their formative years.

Judges for the event were Kris Allen, the Lyell B. Clay Artist-In-Residence in Jazz at Williams College and long-time faculty member at Litchfield Jazz Camp; Albert Rivera, Adjunct Professor, SUNY Purchase College and Operations Director of Litchfield Jazz Camp; and Vita Muir, Executive/Artistic Director and Founder, LPA and Litchfield Jazz.

To watch a video of McMillen’s winning performance, click HERE.

Litchfield Jazz Camp, held during July on the campus of the Frederick Gunn School in Washington, Connecticut, is accepting students for its four summer sessions. The camp accepts students ages 13 to adult at all levels of play with no pre-audition required. A placement audition on arrival assigns campers to skill-matched combos. Need-based financial support can be requested. For information and registration, click HERE or call (860) 361-6285. DB