Sister City Committee to send musician to La Rochelle “New Orleans Jazz Festival

The New Rochelle Sister City Committee is proud to announce the selection of saxophonist Zachary Lipton as the city’s musical ambassador to the La Rochelle, France, “New Orleans Jazz Festival” this April. Lipton, 24, is a 2003 graduate of New Rochelle High School and a 2007 graduate of Columbia University.

The trip reciprocates La Rochelle’s sponsorship last summer of two young musicians who performed in New Rochelle with local musicians. Lipton said, “I am thrilled at the opportunity to represent our city at the La Rochelle jazz festival this May. It’s something every young musician dreams of and, especially, a graduate of the great music program at New Rochelle High School.”

A New York native, Lipton began playing the saxophone at age eight. At age twelve, he began to play jazz while attending Albert Leonard Middle School. In his sophomore year at New Rochelle High School, he was selected as first tenor in the All County jazz band. Two years later, he was selected to play alto saxophone in the debut season of the N.Y. Youth Symphony Jazz Orchestra, and also performed at Carnegie Hall.

Lipton attended Columbia University, in a city overflowing with musical opportunities. While an undergraduate, he performed at a number of clubs and universities, gave performances and clinics at high schools, and founded a weekly on-campus jazz performance. During his senior year, he recorded a collection of original compositions on an album entitled First Steps, which was praised in a review on All About Jazz as “engaging, musically genuine and well-conceived”.

After graduating from Columbia with honors, having completed a major in Mathematics and Economics, Lipton’s musical career has been on the rise. He has performed a series of concerts recently at the Underground Lounge in New York City and is at the forefront of the intersection of internet technology and the world of music, developing new ways to share music and the artistic process and to create a richer, web-based interaction between artist and audience.

Lipton was chosen by a musically-based audition committee consisting of Brian Carter, David Patterson, Sheila Sarkar and Domenick Guastaferro, from among several qualified applicants who responded to a request publicized by the Sister City Committee earlier this year.