Rio Americano High School jazz musicians won big at the Charles Mingus Festival in New York last week.

The annual festival at The New School is sponsored by the Let My Children Hear Music Foundation to promote and honor the music of one of America’s greatest Jazz musicians and composers. 

“Many of the greatest young musicians from across the country gathered to perform for each other and a panel of judges including contemporaries of Mingus, members of the current Mingus Big Band, and Eric Mingus- Charles’s son,” Rio music director Josh Murray wrote in an email.

Here are the honors garnered by Rio Americano High School students:

• Rio was winner of the Combo category. Congratulations to James Sidebotham, Aaron Holst, Salome Ospina, Joel Cooper, Ezra Erickson, Henry Dall-Parker and Sofia Bo Ix-Siu.
• Rio bassist Ezra Erickson was chosen for the “Mingus Spirit” Award, given to the most inspirational musicians at the festival. 
• Pianist Salome Ospina and vocalist Sofia Bo Ix-Siu were both awarded four-year, $30,000 per year scholarships to The New School’s vaunted Mannes School of Music. These scholarships were awarded to three musicians of the over 200 who performed at the festival, and two were from Rio.

“This was an unforgettable experience,” pianist and scholarship recipient Salome Ospina said.