The National Catholic Band Association (NCBA) has named the Pius X Catholic High School Jazz Ensemble as the Outstanding Catholic Jazz Band in the United States for 2025.
“This is an incredible honor and a wonderful acknowledgement of all the hard work of our students,” band director Jared Wilhelm said. “They have done a great job this year.”
Jazz bands from Catholic high schools across the country submitted performance videos to the NCBA by April 1. Each ensemble was evaluated by a panel of three adjudicators, who assessed musicality, technique, and overall performance quality and selected the Pius X Jazz Ensemble as this year’s national winner.
“I was absolutely shell-shocked to learn that out of all the Catholic School Jazz Bands in the country, we had been ranked as the best,” senior Claire Kolbet said. “It’s especially impressive because a lot the people in our band aren’t playing their main instrument and some people have never been in a jazz band.”
“It feels really cool to be a part of something bigger than yourself and put in the work to produce music that can make a positive impact on people’s lives,” junior Cameron Laue said, “because that will always be something that the world needs more of.”
Band members include Matthew Nguyen, Gavin Wiechmann, John Donlan, Avi Farmer, Claire Kolbet, Grace Knieval, Jaxson Hanks, Jenna Lowery, David Hembrecht, Joe Fitzpatrick, Camden Matulka, Maria Fix, Charlie Matthes, Cameron Laue, Matthew Frost, Dominic Tran, Will Anderson, Luna Rida, Oliver Koenig, Ben Unger, Ella Meysenburg. Vocalists Emma Asmus and Kathleen Cowan.
Pius X offers many different band opportunities for students: jazz, marching band, concert band, strings, and a ‘show band’ that performs with the school’s show choirs.
About the NCBA
The National Catholic Band Association works to promote high musical and educational standards in Catholic music programs and works to build cooperation among Catholic bands from across the nation. The NCBA was started in 1953 by a group of band directors to help Catholic school band programs.
