The Hope College jazz studies area will present three concerts across Monday-Thursday, Nov. 14-17. 

Jazz chamber ensembles will perform on Monday, Nov. 14; there will be a vocal jazz concert on Wednesday, Nov. 16; and the Jazz Arts Collective, OGD Trio and Mainstream Ensemble will perform with jazz pianist Michael Stryker on Thursday, Nov. 17. All three concerts will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the John and Dede Howard Recital Hall of the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts.

The public is invited to all three events. Admission is free.

The jazz chamber ensembles concert on Monday, Nov. 14, will feature the Drumset Choir, coached by Keith Hall; the Blue Note Ensemble, coached by Steve Talaga; the Contemporary Ensemble, coached by Brian Coyle; and the Concord Ensemble, coached by Tom Lockwood.

The vocal jazz recital on Wednesday, Nov. 16, will feature performances by multiple students coached by faculty member Edye Hyde. The Hope College Faculty Jazz Trio will also be featured, with Steve Talaga, piano; Charlie Hoats, bass; and Keith Hall, drums.

The Jazz Arts Collective, coached by Brian Coyle; OGD Trio, coached by Rob Hodson; and the Mainstream Ensemble, coached by Coyle, will perform on Thursday, Nov. 17.  Michael Stryker, who is an associate professor of jazz piano at Western Illinois University, will be featured on the program while on campus through the college’s teaching artist-in-residence program in jazz.

The Jazz Arts Collective is the premier large jazz ensemble at Hope College. The collective places a creative focus on ensemble communication and improvisation. Comprised of a rhythm section and flexible wind/string instrumentation, this select group performs compositions and arrangements from across the full spectrum of music. The collective’s repertoire ranges from the great historical jazz composers such as Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, to works by modern jazz masters like Vince Mendoza, Jim McNeely and John Hollenbeck. The Jazz Arts Collective frequently performs commissions, works by emerging young composers, and originals by Hope College faculty and students. The ensemble also collectively reinterprets and re-imagines the music from the 20th century classical repertoire.

The seven jazz chamber ensembles at Hope afford students the opportunity to perform in the classic small group combo setting. The ensembles vary in size and instrumentation and place a creative focus on improvisation and group communication. All of the ensembles perform works from the classic jazz repertoire. The more advanced jazz chamber ensembles also perform repertoire from the contemporary jazz world. These ensembles also place an emphasis on original student and faculty compositions. All of the ensembles are coached by members of the Hope College jazz faculty.  The jazz chamber ensembles are open to anyone interested, regardless of experience with jazz.

The Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts is located at 221 Columbia Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets.