Hope College will feature jazz violinist Sara Caswell and jazz vocalist Rachel Caswell on Monday, Sept. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Their seamless sound combined with tight arrangements of repertoire ranging from the "Great American Songbook" to Bebop to contemporary jazz is augmented by classic improvisation.
Musician Mark O'Connor has said of Sara that "...Most good violinists will never experience what Sara creates with her instrument. It is beautifully refined emotion that lifts the spirit and at the same time, crystallizes for me this thought: jazz violin could really have something to offer again."
"Cadence Magazine" has said that "Rachel Caswell is in command of a heat seeking missile of a soprano voice. She takes aim and invariably hits her mark."
The Caswell sisters not only perform together, but have followed similar paths throughout their careers. Both studied jazz from an early age with Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Distinguished Professor David Baker; both attended Indiana University on full scholarship as Wells Scholars; both graduated with high distinction in classical performance and jazz studies; both earned master's degrees in jazz performance (Rachel at New England Conservatory in Boston and Sara at Manhattan School of Music in New York); and both were invited to participate in the Thelonious Monk Institute's Summer Residency Program in Aspen/Snowmass, Colo., where they worked with major jazz artists.
The Caswell Sisters will also be holding master classes with Hope College students.
Nykerk Hall of Music is located in the central Hope campus at the former 127 E. 12th Street between College and Columbia avenues.