The Susan Wagner High School Jazz Band has been a premier performance ensemble in the NYC Department of Education for the past 2 decades. Under the direction of Mr. Paul Corn, they have been selected as finalists in the Essentially Ellington Competition 2023, where they finished 2nd in the Nation, and again in 2024. The band has won numerous first place awards in the Heritage Festival Competitions in Williamsburg, Boston, and Washington D.C., as well as at Festival Disney in Orlando, FL. They have also participated in the New York State School Music Association Adjudication Festival and received the grade of Gold with Distinction on Level 6 repertoire. The ensemble performs numerous concerts throughout the city each year, both at school and throughout the community. Over the past decade, the band has enjoyed collaborating with Arturo OFarrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra on yearly joint performances in Brooklyn and Staten Island. They also made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2020, Dizzys Club and Birdland Jazz Club debut in Spring of 2023, and will be performing a joint concert with Eddie Palmieri in June 2024.