Scarsdale Music Student Wins DownBeat Magazine Award

ELMSFORD, NY – Lagond Music School announced that one of their students — Dylan Buckser-Schulz of Scarsdale — is a winner of the 41st Annual DownBeat Student Music Awards. Buckser-Schulz won for Outstanding Performance, Junior High School Jazz Soloist.

Charlie Lagond, co-founder and musical director of Lagond Music School, said, “We’re very proud of his talent and especially his effort. Special thanks to his drum teacher, Jerad Lippi, and the rest of our teachers. Extra special thanks to his parents, Lisa and Chris, for their trust and support.”

As part of the DownBeat Student Music Awards competition, students record their music and submit it for judging by professional musicians and educators from across the country, according to a spokesman. Judging criteria are based on musicianship, creativity, improvisation, technique, sound quality and balance, excitement and authority. This is the fourth time that a Lagond Music student has receive such an honor.

“I’ve never won an award before. This feel pretty overwhelming. But good, all the same,” Buckser-Schulz said. “For starters, I’d like to thank my drum sticks for getting me through this whole process. Seriously, though, jazz music is something that I love and appreciate with a passion, and being recognized for my abilities in the art is something I will never take for granted.”

A seventh grader at Edgemont Jr./Sr. High School, he and his twin brother, keyboardist and vocalist Tyler Buckser-Schulz, got their start in Lagond’s Band Prep Jam for elementary and middle-school students, prior to joining Lagond’s SRO band. Dylan Buckser-Schulz who started studying drums at Lagond when he was 6.

Established in 1976, the DownBeat Student Music Awards are considered the most prestigious awards in jazz education. Hundreds of musicians, music educators and music industry professionals received their first international recognition as DownBeat Student Music Award winners.

Founded in 2002, Lagond is a college preparatory program for music, offering students the training, guidance and rigorous instruction needed to prepare them for their college studies and for rewarding careers in music and entertainment.

Located in Elmsford, Lagond Music School is a nonprofit academy dedicated to contemporary music education and live music performance, serving a diverse community of students throughout Westchester County and the surrounding area. The curriculum spans all contemporary musical genres and includes courses in popular music songwriting, composition, theory, jazz and contemporary performance, production and engineering. With training provided by an experienced faculty and visiting guest artists, Lagond students have achieved success in national competitions and have gone on to gain acceptance and scholarships from the most prestigious music colleges and ivy league universities in the country.

Photo caption: Dylan Buckser-Schulz. Photo credit: Courtesy.