FRYEBURG — The director of Fryeburg Academy’s award-winning music program isn’t waiting for students to sign up for his programs anymore. There is now a waiting list to get in the door.

“When I started going to Berklee 19 years ago, I had to twist arms to get kids to participate at all,” said Brent LaCasce, director of music and chairman of the Fine Arts Department at Fryeburg Academy less than a week after his vocal jazz ensemble won first place at the prestigious Berklee High School Jazz Festival in Boston on March 5.

“Now we’ve got two different vocal groups, not to mention five instrumental jazz groups, plus the more traditional band and chorus, and I always have more kids try out than we can accommodate,” LaCasce said.

Whether the popularity of the television musical comedy and pop cultural phenomenon “Glee” has anything to do with it, LaCasce said he has seen an effect since the show began in 2009.

“I’ve definitely noticed an increase in enrollment, not just in chorus, but in all music classes,” he said.

The young musicians in the Fryeburg Academy music programs also have talent — lots of it.

Fryeburg Academy’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble took first place in class 2 at the 43rd annual Berklee High School Jazz Festival held last Saturday in Boston at the Berklee College of Music.

“We were totally shocked,” Eliza Neidlinger, a sophomore student and soprano in the jazz vocal group of primarily upperclass men and women, said.

With about 5,000 attendees at the competition, Neidlinger said the competition from across the United States and beyond can be intimidating.

“This is my second year going to Berklee, and this is still very scary,” said Neidlinger, who watched a few other groups before her performance to gauge the competition.

“It was scary to see how good they are. You’re sure you’re not going to win,” she said.

But win they did.

“I have talented kids,” LaCasce said. He said he believes they are so good because of the amount of time the group spends practicing.

“We spend more time at it. The kids have to give up afternoon to evenings to participate from October through April. At least five hours per week. More during competitions,” he said.

Samantha Kruguer, a senior class member who lives in Brownfield, said the win was big, very big.

“At Berklee there are over 200 schools and 3,0000 musicians competing,” said Kruguer, who sang with the vocal jazz ensemble for the first time this year but has participated in other vocal groups.

“I’ve always been in chorus. I love singing,” Kruguer said. She said she became more involved in music during her high school years and found she loved competing on stage with the vocal group as a soprano.

The students sang three songs at the competition, Kruguer said. They were “The Night Has a Thousands Eyes,” made famous in 1963 by Bobby Vee; “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today,” by Randy Newman; and “Taking It to the Streets,” the 1976 Doobie Brothers’ hit song. They will sing them again this weekend at the state competitions.

“We keep improving on them,” said Kruguer, who will attend Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., after graduation in June to study biology, perhaps specializing in wildlife rehabilitation.

According to information from festival organizers, the Berklee High School Jazz Festival competition is comprised of three competitive categories: large ensembles, combo ensembles and vocal jazz ensembles. Within each category, classes are determined by school size based upon the enrollments of grades 10, 11 and 12, with the lowest number class having the largest school enrollment.

The competitors from Fryeburg Academy at Berklee were Kelsey Sheehan, Naomi Ela, Jon Dana, Andrea Oullette, Kevin Brown, Bjorn Myhre, Matt Stoker, Connor Sheehan, Jiahao Gu, Devin LaCasce, Ali Gagnon, Audrey Boyd, Samantha Kruguer, Eliza Neidlinger, Nikki Shivers and Simone Marie.

The academy’s jazz combo, featuring Kelsey Sheehan (bass), Jon Dana (drums), Naomi Ela (piano) and Devin LaCasce (alto sax, flute), received an honorable mention. Devin LaCasce also received three judges choice awards for outstanding soloist in an ensemble.

This is certainly not the first big win for the 16-member group. They have won five consecutive Maine state championships, and this is their third win at Berklee in the last decade.

The jazz group will now travel to the Clark Terry/UNH Jazz Festival on March 12 and then on to Maine state festivals in late March and early April.

All the groups will perform at the academy’s Jazz Cabaret on Tuesday, March 22, at Fryeburg’s Laura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at 935-9232 or by visiting www.fryeburgacademy.org. More information can be found at FA Jazz on Facebook for the latest news and performance information.

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