The two-time defending state jazz champions have earned their chance to make it three in a row. Pella Jazz I was the best band at the SCIBA Jazz Festival in Winterset Saturday, placing first. The victory earns the ensemble a spot at the Iowa Jazz Championships on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2023. In 2022, Pella Jazz I and Pella Jazz Ensemble placed in the top five of Class 3A at the event held at Iowa State University. Pella has won 19 total state titles and has been in the top four of the prestigious competition featuring the state’s best jazz musicians for 38 consecutive years.