Bozeman has a plethora of talented professional musicians, music teachers, and college students in the exceptional music programs at MSU. But perhaps the ones who shine the brightest are the young musicians still in high school. The Foundation is proud to welcome teenage performers from Basement Jazz for the February Exploring the Arts program on Monday, February 27 at 7 p.m. in the Large Community Room. Jazz band members include Amy Giullian on drums, Caroline Janssen on guitar, Colleen Schmidt rocking the bass, and Claire Young on tenor saxophone. In addition to being accomplished musicians, these five girls will be playing their original compositions

According to the band’s Facebook page, the girls met at Camp Epic in 2010. Since that time, they’ve played gigs around town, including the annual Jazz Montana dinner, the Women’s Expo, the Christmas Stroll, Bobcat basketball games, Sola Café, and at weddings and private parties. In addition, the jazz band opened for the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet at last summer’s Big Sky Classical Music Festival, where the Bozeman Daily Chronicle said, “Bozeman-based band Basement Jazz brought down the house.”