The Rivers School is sending students to compete for $175,000 in summer scholarships at Berklee College of Music's 45th Annual High School Jazz Festival in Boston on March 2. The annual event is the largest of its kind in the US and will showcase over 3000 students and 200 bands and vocal ensembles from across the country and Puerto Rico. Please join in cheering them on as they prepare for the big day!

The Rivers School is preparing to defend their titles from last year.

• 2nd place in their Large Ensemble divison
• Two students were recognized for Outstanding Musicianship

For a full list of last year's winners and to hear their performances click here.

Here's some more info on this decades-old action-packed day: 

The largest high school jazz competition in the U.S. - the Berklee College of Music 45th High School Jazz Festival - will host more than 200 bands and vocal ensembles featuring 3,000 students from 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico competing for $175,000 in scholarships to Berklee's Five-Week Summer Performance Program. Participants will also enjoy clinics and concerts by award-winning singer-songwriter and trombonist Aubrey Logan, whose jazz, neo-soul, and pop sound defines the new generation of contemporary musicians, and the Metta Quintet, featuring some of today’s brightest jazz artists including Berklee alumni Lawrence Fields Hans Schuman, and the resident ensemble of New York City-based jazz preservation initiative JazzReach. 

The entire event is free and open to the public, and will take place on Saturday, March 2, 2013, at the Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston Street, 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Scholarship and award winners will be announced at 5:30 p.m., followed by a winners showcase concert at 7:30 p.m. Find the complete schedule at berkleejazz.org.

In addition to witnessing the performances by the top high school jazz bands in the country, audiences will have the chance to experience top Berklee students in the Berklee Tower of Power ensemble, the Berklee Rainbow Band, the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, and the Marine Corps All Star Band, led by Berklee alumnus Chief Warrant Officer Stephen B. Giove. 

About Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, for over 65 years, has evolved to support its belief that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through contemporary music education. The college was the first in the U.S. to teach jazz, the popular music of the time. It incorporated rock n’ roll in the 1960s, created the world's first degree programs in film scoring, music synthesis, and songwriting, and, in recent years, added world music, hip-hop, electronica, and video game music to its curriculum. With a diverse student body representing over 80 countries, a music industry "who’s who" of alumni that have received 229 Grammy Awards, Berklee is the world’s premier learning lab for the music of today – and tomorrow.