3 X BIG BAND BATTLE + “SURROUNDINGS”
12/4/2026
Doors: 15:00 // Admission: Free
Come by turkis on April 12 and experience not one – not two – but three youth big bands live in concert! Each of the three big bands will perform their own set, and as the grand finale, they will present the piece “Surroundings”, composed by Jan Lynggaard Sørensen, where all three bands play together in a powerful big band symbiosis. Jan Lynggaard Sørensen will conduct the piece himself at the concert.
PROGRAM
➤ Doors open: 15:00
➤ Concert “Surroundings”: 15:30
➤ Danish Youth Jazz Orchestra: 16:30
➤ Sankt Annæ Bigband: 17:00
➤ LaGuardia High School Jazz Orchestra: 17:30
SANKT ANNÆ BIGBAND
Sankt Annæ Bigband is one of the hardest-swinging high school big bands in Denmark, and at the same time an important part of the talent pipeline for jazz wind players at conservatories across the country. Today, the orchestra measures up to the very best youth big bands, both in Denmark and internationally. In 2016, the band won 2nd prize at Berklee College of Music’s High School Jazz Festival in Boston – a highly unusual achievement for a European youth big band. In 2019, the band was selected for the main competition at the Monterey Jazz Festival’s youth event, Next Generation Jazz Festival. In 2024, SAGBB and LGHJO entered into an exchange program, where the two bands visit each other alternately in Denmark and the USA.
LAGUARDIA HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ ORCHESTRA
The prestigious LaGuardia High School Jazz Orchestra under the musical direction of Kevin Blancq, returns to Copenhagen April 5-10, 2026 to continue their educational partnership with fellow students and colleagues at Sankt Annæ! Fresh from their recent Jazz @ Lincoln Center performance in New York, the music of Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Joe Henderson, Dizzy Gillespie, and Gil Evans will be featured.
Don't miss your chance to hear them live in concert!
DANISH YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Danish Youth Jazz Orchestra is an elite youth big band on the Danish jazz scene. The orchestra consists of some of the country’s most promising emerging talents and functions both as a high-level youth ensemble and a platform for talent development. Danish Youth Jazz Orchestra makes space for the wild, the unconventional, and the experimental – while staying rooted in tradition.
Danish Youth Jazz Orchestra is led by John Riddell. Riddell is a conductor, composer, arranger, and drummer specializing in jazz for large ensembles. For more than a decade, his professional work has centered on the artistic leadership and development of young musicians. In 2012, he founded Danish Youth Jazz Orchestra, which he continues to lead as artistic director and conductor. Riddell is also a board member of Copenhagen Youth Jazz Orchestra and regularly contributes as a guest conductor, participating in the orchestra’s artistic planning and educational strategy.
Alongside his pedagogical work, Riddell is a drummer with Aarhus Jazz Orchestra, where he also arranges and regularly conducts projects. Through this work, he has collaborated with artists such as Randy Brecker, Marcus Miller, Eliane Elias, Marc Johnson, Bill Laurence, Dennis Mackrel, Curtis Stigers, and Wycliffe Gordon. He also works as a guest drummer with the DR Big Band, where he has collaborated with Donny McCaslin and Charlie Young III, director of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Danish Youth Jazz Orchestra receives support from Spar Nord Fonden, C.A.C. Fonden, Augustinus Fonden, the Danish Arts Foundation, and the Municipality of Aarhus.