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Competition logistics will be updated here, so bookmark this page!

Emergency cell contact for the weekend
Sue Mingus 646-591-6344 sue @ mingusmingusmingus .com
(regular office is 212-736-4749 but office will be closed that weekend so please note our numbers.)

BAND DIRECTOR TO DO:

• Fill out jam sheets by Monday, Feb 13!!!
• Make reservations at Jazz Standard if you will be attending.
• Pick up buttons for your group at checkin table at MSM on Saturday or at donation table at St. Bart's to be identified and get preferred seating at St. Bart's.

February 17-20, 2012

FRI-MONDAY JAZZ STANDARD:

The charge is $30/$15 students Fri and Sat. Sunday and Monday is $25/$12.50 students. You must contact the club directly to make your reservation. There is no minimum charge (for food and drinks). Sheena Mohan at: 212-576-2232 (Jazz Standard) or 212-447-7733 (Blue Smoke) or smohan @ BlueSmoke.com. (The doors open about an hour before set times.) You need to be there 1/2 hour before set time to hold your reservation.

On Sunday, Feb 19 (when outstanding Soloist winners can "sit-in" and play with the Mingus Big Band) if you have made a reservation for the first set you must be there at 7pm. If you run late, you can call on the phone before 7pm and tell them you are with the Mingus Competition and they will make an exception and hold your reservation. Note: plan for the Awards will probably be over by 6:45.

Parking for Jazz Standard: E. 28th (btw Park/Lex), E. 24th (btw Park/Lex), E. 31st (btw Park/Lex) and at 6pm there is free street parking for bus and car on the safe streets around the club.

SATURDAY 10am-4:30pm at MSM. Concert 7:30pm at St Bart's.

Full day of clinics to be detailed on the main schedule

MSM address is 120 Claremont-entrance is on West 122nd and Broadway.

AT MSM: There is parking for buses near MSM, on the west (river) side of Riverside Drive opposite Grant’s Tomb at 122nd St. Car parking: GMC Parking Garage is located at 532 West 122nd St, less than a block from the School. Parking can also be found along the street, however, visitors are cautioned to follow parking restrictions carefully and not to leave valuables in their cars.

The cafeteria will be open on Saturday 8:00 am till 6 pm. You can also bring your own snacks and beverages. There are also vending machines.

You will sign in when you arrive. Sign-in can start at 9:15 Saturday morning. There wil be rehearsal room assigments posted when you arrive.

Finalists will have rehearsal time/lunch on Sat from 10am-12 then films, clinics and jam. Jam is for finalist students only. You will have student room assignments.

10am Groups will be provided space to practice in the morning at MSM. Please let us know if you will be rehearsing so we can schedule you a room. (You will NOT have rehearsal time on Sunday. You WILL have a half hour of warm up time before your performance.)

12pm Mingus films and welcoming gathering of all schools.

1pm Clinics

2:30-4:30 Student Jams. NOTE: Cymbals are provided for the jam. We wish to discourage personal use of cymbals as it reduces the time for each student to jam. You will bring your own cymbals to the competition!

Concert in the evening by Mingus Orchestra at St. Bartholomew 109 East 50th Street at Park Avenue. FREE. Donations welcome.

And Mingus Big Band will do three sets at Jazz Standard that evening at 7:30pm, 9:30pm, 11pm.

If you haven't made other plans for dinner on Saturday between the clinics/jam and St. Bart's, (the cafeteria closes at 6), you might want to try pizza at Bettalona, 3134 Broadway, La Salle & 125th St/Tiemann Place Tel. (212) 749-1125. It's large and a few blocks away from MSM and surely they could have pizzas available to you if you preorder. Or you could find a pizza place or other options near St. Bart's. Here is a link to chowhow search for pizza. Google maps lists restaurants as well. Cheaper options are probably along Lexington than Park and west.

SUNDAY Approx 10am-6pm Competition and performance by Mingus Dynasty at MSM.

The cafeteria will be open Sunday 8:30am till 4:00 pm. You can also bring your own snacks and beverages. There are also vending machines.

Bands may arrive starting at early morning 8:30am on Sunday. However, bands should arrive at least 90 minutes before their scheduled performance. We strongly advise that all groups arrive early Sunday morning so they can see the entire competition.

Each band will have a Manhattan School of Music students assigned as a monitor to accompany them all day to answer questions and facilitate their schedule.

Each band will be given its own holding classroom for coats, instruments, and individual warmup on the 4th and 5th floors (assignments will be given the week prior.) These rooms will be locked and secured by monitors, but please use common sense in regard to carrying cash with you. MSM and LMCHM are not responsible for the loss of instruments or personal items.

Groups will move to Ades rehearsal space on the first floor, one hour before their scheduled performance. They will have a half-hour to warm-up, then proceed to the “on deck” site in the lobby. Right before their performance time, monitors will escort them to backstage in Borden Auditorium. There will be no other rehearsal available, so please use the time on Saturday!

Combos will be placed according to their own stage plan. The big bands will be standard stacked big band setup.

EQUIPMENT-wise, we will provide: piano, bass amps, guitar amps, drum sets, chairs, stands, mics. You need to bring hand percussion (bongo/conga) and anything exotic you might need. Rhythm section players should bring their own cymbals, sticks, clutches, brushes and patch cords. Same goes for rehearsal.

Groups will have 30 minutes to perform their selections (20 minutes of music, 5 minutes on, 5 minutes off stage). No disqualification will occur for going slightly longer, but groups MUST try to stay within the allotted time. For Combos, Band Directors may introduce but may not stay on stage to conduct.

SUNDAY NIGHT

After the Competition, Outstanding Soloists from the day will be invited to sit in with the Mingus Big Band at Jazz Standard. Again, please let us know if you will be attending: how many, which set.

Hotels:
We can recommend hotels in the area but all arrangements will be the responsibility of the participants. Hotels.com, kayak.com and others show some reasonable rates for that period for 2 stars and better. If you need 9 or more rooms ask for someone in group sales to help you, but look around first so you know where you want to stay. Manhattan School of Music is on the upper west side, St. Bart's is midtown east side, so anywhere on the west side or near Central Park would be ideal, easy to get around by bus, cab, or subway. Times Square is also very exciting for kids, has major chains with group rates and is also accessible. Research will also yield some good results, such as the following article in the New York Times about affordable boutique hotels: http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/travel/20hotels.html Manhattan School of Music offered to extend their discount code for Lucerne Hotel, a luxury hotel on 79th St near Broadway and Central Park. Please ask for code if you wish to stay there.

Also, we've set up a Facebook Group for the Competition:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=161691992113&ref=ts

and will be posting your news to our news page!

The Competition will not be recorded except for promotional use. No recordings will be provided to groups. You are welcome to record your own group provided it is done without disrupting the proceedings.