Smooth playing
Jazz ensembles prepare for concert
Amelia Ley
Issue date: 12/3/09 Section: Campus Life
Robert Kehle, music professor and director of the PSU Jazz Ensemble I, has been busy preparing for the PSU Jazz Ensembles Concert, which will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, at Memorial Auditorium.
The PSU Jazz Ensemble I rehearses three days a week and recently went on tour.
"We have actually already performed these pieces four times, and so we will come home and do the triumphal return," he said.
The two big pieces Jazz Ensemble I will perform are "West Side Story" by Leonard Bernstein and "Peep" by Michael Brecker, says Kehle.
Brecker, who recently died of cancer, was a fusion artist, meaning he combined a lot of elements, says Kehle.
The concert will also feature the PSU Jazz Ensemble II and the Southeast Kansas Music Educators Association District Jazz Band, which is composed of students from Southeast Kansas high schools.
These students had to audition in November and were selected by high school teachers in the area.
The Southeast KMEA District Jazz Band will be directed by guest artist Wayne Goins, a music professor and director of jazz studies at Kansas State University.
Goins has written four books including a biography: "Charlie Christian: Jazz Guitar's King of Swing" and a college textbook: "The Wise Improviser."
The PSU Jazz Ensemble II will perform a ballad, featuring the trombone section, called "Here's That Rainy Day," says Kehle.
Chris Shockley and Tamara Ryan, seniors, will be guest conductors for a couple of the Jazz Ensemble II pieces.
"If you can imagine, that is kind of like standing up and giving a lecture to your senior level class," said Kehle.
There are two PSU Jazz Ensembles concerts a semester and a jazz festival each spring.
This year's jazz festival is Friday, March 5, and will feature the John Fedchock New York Big Band.
The PSU Jazz Ensemble I rehearses three days a week and recently went on tour.
"We have actually already performed these pieces four times, and so we will come home and do the triumphal return," he said.
The two big pieces Jazz Ensemble I will perform are "West Side Story" by Leonard Bernstein and "Peep" by Michael Brecker, says Kehle.
Brecker, who recently died of cancer, was a fusion artist, meaning he combined a lot of elements, says Kehle.
The concert will also feature the PSU Jazz Ensemble II and the Southeast Kansas Music Educators Association District Jazz Band, which is composed of students from Southeast Kansas high schools.
These students had to audition in November and were selected by high school teachers in the area.
The Southeast KMEA District Jazz Band will be directed by guest artist Wayne Goins, a music professor and director of jazz studies at Kansas State University.
Goins has written four books including a biography: "Charlie Christian: Jazz Guitar's King of Swing" and a college textbook: "The Wise Improviser."
The PSU Jazz Ensemble II will perform a ballad, featuring the trombone section, called "Here's That Rainy Day," says Kehle.
Chris Shockley and Tamara Ryan, seniors, will be guest conductors for a couple of the Jazz Ensemble II pieces.
"If you can imagine, that is kind of like standing up and giving a lecture to your senior level class," said Kehle.
There are two PSU Jazz Ensembles concerts a semester and a jazz festival each spring.
This year's jazz festival is Friday, March 5, and will feature the John Fedchock New York Big Band.
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