Hope College jazz combos will perform on Wednesday, April 3, and the Hope College Jazz Arts Collective and Jazz Organ Trio will perform on Tuesday, April 9. Both concerts will be 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 both events. Admission is free.
The April 3 concert will feature the Verve Ensemble, Vanguard Ensemble, Blue Note Ensemble and Contemporary Ensemble.
The Verve Ensemble, coached by Tom Lockwood, percussionist and lecturer in music, will open the April 3 event with works by Horace Silver and Isaiah Albert. The Verve Ensemble includes Evelyn Cueto-Barreto, flute; Isaiah Aubert, piano; Gerrit Wiegerink, bass; and David Disher, percussion.
Coached by Jeff Shoup, drums and lecturer in music, the Vanguard Ensemble will play works by Nat Adderley, Sonny Rollins, and Kenny Dorham. The Vanguard Ensemble includes Caleb Schoon, trumpet; Noah Kochanski, guitar; and Daniel Tague, organ.
The Blue Note Ensemble, coached by Steve Talaga adjunct assistant professor of music, will play works by Keith Jarret, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, and Gil Evans. The Blue Note Ensemble includes Parker Billings, trumpet; Samantha Mattingly, piano; Micah Stilwell, bass; and Carlos Flores, drums.
To close the April 3 concert, the Contemporary Ensemble, coached by Nate Roberts, lecturer in the First-Year Seminar program, will play works by Chick Corea and Joshua Redman. The Contemporary Ensemble includes Michael Pineda, tenor; Andrew DePree, piano; Dylan Sherman, bas; and Carlos Flores, drums.
The April 9 concert featuring the Jazz Organ Trio and Jazz Arts Collective will include selected works by Horace Silver, Lonnie Smith, Charlie Jordan, Justin Morell, Paul Tynan, Mike Tomaro, Tom Garling, Bob Mintzer, James Miley, Miles Davis, Eddie Harris and Fred Sturm.
The Jazz Organ Trio, coached by Dr. Brian Coyle, professor of music, includes Clif Metcalf, organ; Charlie Jordan, tenor; and Zach Snoek, drums.
The Jazz Arts Collective, directed by Coyle, includes Mackenzie Schmidt, saxophone; Michael Pineda, saxophone; Charlie Jordan, saxophone and woodwinds; Danny Wade, trumpet; Andrew DePree, piano; Leah Reinardy, vibes; Clif Metcalf, organ; Dylan Sherman, bass; Zach Snoek, drums; and Carlos Flores, percussion.
The many Jazz Chamber Ensembles at Hope College 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 perform repertoire from the contemporary jazz world, as well as original student and faculty compositions.
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 Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts is located at 221 Columbia Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets.