The Grange Festival welcomed one of Europe’s top big bands, the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, together with Dutch jazz superstar Fay Claassen, to perform hits from the Great American Songbook. This golden age of music (1920–1950) was shaped by composers like Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Jerome Kern, whose impressive collection of classics stood the test of time. Students from schools across Hampshire watched Fay and the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw in a schools performance, a highlight of the summer programme, preceded by an onstage workshop where players give tips and direction on their performance.