PORT ORANGE — Leading Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's top jazz band in their first performance since a mass shooting, Matt Calderin said he wanted his students to feel free.
Judging from his band's spirited three song set — which ended with the high-octane "Channel 1 Suite," a piece made famous by Buddy Rich's hot-tempered drumming — they did.
"It's so much tension and then a release of emotion," said Calderin, the school's director of jazz studies.
The band was lifted by a standing ovation Saturday at Port Orange's Lakeside Jazz Festival, which brought together more than 80 different ensembles from schools across Florida.
Parkland's high school has been in the spotlight since the Feb. 14 slaying of 17 students and staff there. The jazz band, however, took the stage without a mention of the shooting, preferring to let the fervent energy and muted solos of their music stand for itself.
"I think it's a great comfort to them because they are able to express themselves through jazz," Calderin said.
He described jazz's improvisation as the perfect art form to channel their emotions because "it's freeing" and allows for the expression of pain and suffering through its playing.
Jeremy Blackwell, Atlantic High School's band director, saw jazz music similarly. Saying that was "hot," he grabbed Calderin in a hug after the last note.
"Music is a healer, mind regulator, and good for your soul," said Blackwell, who was also one of the organizer's of the festival, now in its 21st year. "Jazz is an emotional thing."
Volusia's middle schools and high schools had 21 bands at the event, and all the festival's proceeds go to funding summer band and leadership scholarships for Atlantic and Spruce Creek high school students, Blackwell said.
"The students look forward to it every year," he said. "They get to know the other bands, and make lifelong friends, seeing the same kids every year."
Wearing the burgundy colors of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, both Malinda Chamberland and Sandra Frantz were at the festival to cheer on the school's two bands.
Frantz said she was proud to support the students.
"All these beautiful kids are like a family," said Frantz, whose 17-year-old daughter, Angela, plays the tenor saxophone.
The school massacre has drawn national attention to the students, many of whom have been outspoken in their desire to see stricter gun laws and improvements in school safety.
Chamberland's daughter, Tiana, is a freshman alto saxophone player, and she said that practicing for the band provided camaraderie and focus for all the students while they made sense of the shooting.
"It has helped for them to get together," she said. "They love what they do, and love the music. The music has been there for them in their grief."