2025 Festival Award Winners
Throughout the Festival, our guest artists/adjudicators designate individual musicians as “outstanding” for solo, section, or composing/arranging work. At the close of the weekend, they designate a handful of ensembles as “outstanding” overall.
Outstanding Ensemble Awards
- Capital University Big Band
- Columbia College “Fusion Ensemble”
- Elmhurst University Jazz Band
- Elmhurst University “Late Night Blues”
- Kansas City Kansas Community College Combo
- Olivet Nazarene University Combo
- Ohio State University Big Band
Outstanding Individual Awards
Ashland University
- Dom Cole
- Kayin McDonald
- Thor McDonald
- Stephen Struckmann
- Grant Vance
Capital University Big Band
- Nate Dickas
- Daniel Johnson-Brewer
- Kristin Kalnapenk
- Issac Lutz
- Emma McCalle
- Kyson Orick
- Lucas Ruetz
- Sy Ward
- Gracie Westergaard
- Parker Wilkinson
Columbia College Fusion Ensemble
- Bea Fuadin
- Madi Janosch
- Henry Parmenter
Elmhurst University Combo
- Maddux Masopust
- Aidan Pelletier
- Matt Swick
Hillsdale College Big Band
- Matthew Byrne
- Nate Fish
- Owen Gerth
- Gavin Listro
- Morgan Milam
- Dravyn Spies
KCKCC Blue Devil Funk Band
- James Barton
- Caden Bradshaw
- Heidi Eberhardt
- Ben Jackson
- Michael Suniano
- Noah Randal
KCKCC Jazz Combo
- Heidi Eberhardt
- Nick Gasser
- Joel Martinez
- Luke Paulson
Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra
- Brandon Harper
- Eli Sullivan
- Ethan Weisman
The Ohio State University Jazz Ensemble
- Peter Brown
- Alexis Cunningham
- Lily Kent
- Victor Madeline
- Ivan Murray
- Joung-Min Oh
- Drew Powell
- Nick Serrano
- Izaiah Steenrod
- Andrew Theiss
ONU Jazz Combo
- Josh Ferguson
- Kent Gieselmen
- Steven Meyer
Purdue Jazz Band
- Seth Dewhitt
- Olivia Helmuth
- Jasha Lewit
- Mason Nichols
- Grace O’Neil
- Garrett Malmborg
- Robert Weimer
- Elliot Woo
UW-Whitewater Jazz Ensemble I
- Anton Saucedo
- Alex Martin
- Tommy Swanick
UW-Whitewater Jazz Ensemble II
- Brandon Harper
- Eli Sullivan
- Ethan Weisman
Elmhurst University
- Frank Barrett
- Aldre Delos-Santos
- Jack McGreevey
- Mickey O’Brien
- John Pinns
- Meghan Sandberg
- Brian Tacastacas