The Jazz Singers and Jazz Orchestra of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Glenn Korff School of Music will perform at 7:30 p.m. on March 9 at Kimball Recital Hall.
The concert is free and open to the public. It will also be live webcast.
The Jazz Singers, under the direction of David von Kampen, lecturer, is a small choir open to all members of the university community by audition. Students are instructed in jazz style, ensemble singing, lyrical delivery, solos, and improvisation.
The Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Greg Simon, assistant professor of composition, is the university’s showcase jazz organization and one of the most visible performing groups. This versatile set performs all styles of music.
“Jazz Singers explored a wide variety of sources this semester,” von Kampen said. “At this concert, we will sing arrangements of music by Lambert Hendricks and Ross, the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Claude Debussy.
The group currently has six music majors and eight non-majors, many of whom are graduating this spring. They recently performed at the Jazz Education Network Conference in Dallas in January.
“Anyone who loves to sing and wants to explore a diverse and challenging repertoire should come to this concert and consider auditioning in August,” von Kampen said.
The Jazz Orchestra’s programming will celebrate the big band, all that it is today and all that it has been in the past, in a “Creations and BD” program.
“In addition to the music of the great Benny Carter – a legend in big band lore – we play music from some of my favorite new composers,” Simon said. “From ‘Mechanical Men’ inspired by Stephen Harvey’s supervillains to Anna Webber’s ethereal way of using the human voice in ‘Climbing on Mirrors’, these four pieces are brilliant in color and spirit, painting amazing images in music.”
