UMass Vocal Jazz Group Wins Outstanding Performance Award from DownBeat Magazine

The UMass Vocal Jazz Group, directed by Catherine Jensen-Hole, was among the winners in the annual Student Music Awards (SMAs) sponsored by DownBeat Magazine, widely recognized as the top publication devoted to “Jazz, Blues, and Beyond.” Each year, DownBeat announces the Student Music Award winners in their June issue based on recordings submitted by jazz programs from across the country. Ensembles and individual students from the UMass Jazz and African American Music Studies program have been awarded SMAs in virtually every category over the past thirty-five years.

This year, the Vocal Jazz Group won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Latin Group in the undergraduate college category. Students who performed on the recordings submitted to DownBeat included vocalists Nathan Fisette, Julia Ganley, Emma Hagan, Uma Kasichainula, Julia Loewer, Logan O’Connell, Henry Pareto, Mae Whaley and Hannah White. Dylan Walter and Coleman Hovey performed on piano/keyboard, with Dillon Pinard on drums. Last year, DownBeat recognized the Vocal Jazz program with the award for Outstanding Performance by an Asynchronous Small Vocal Jazz Group (undergraduate college category).