UTC Jazz Band Concert - “Mostly Mingus”
Thursday, April 9, 2009, 7:30 pm
Roland Hayes Concert Hall, UTC Fine Arts Center
Press Release 3/20/2009
On Thursday, April 9, 2009 the UTC Music Department will present the UTC Jazz Band under direction of Dr. Erika Schafer in concert at 7:30 pm in the Roland Hayes Concert Hall, UTC Fine Arts Center (corner of Vine and Palmetto Streets). The UTC Jazz Band is one of the most popular student ensembles on campus and its concerts are highly anticipated each year. The concert is free and open to the general public.
Charles Mingus, c. 1973
This concert will feature the music of Charles Mingus, a bassist and composer prominent in the 1950’s, known for exploring and pushing the boundaries of jazz at the time. He explored the styles of hard bop, gospel, free jazz, straight-ahead jazz, and Latin in his music. Furthermore, he was outspoken as an activist for racial equality. Steve Schlesinger of the Guggenheim Foundation said, “I look forward to the day when we can transcend labels like jazz and acknowledge Charles Mingus as the major American composer that he is.” The New Yorker wrote, “For sheer melodic and rhythmic and structural originality, his compositions may equal anything written in western music in the twentieth century.”
Duke Ellington, c. 1966
The concert will also feature the music of Duke Ellington. Dizzy Gillespie once called Mingus a “young Duke” because of his similarities with Ellington. Both had a fierce compositional and recording pace. Both used variations in timbre and tonality as compositional techniques. And both composed music that was tailored to the characteristics of the musicians in their respective groups. Ellington is seen by many as the greatest American composer. Wynton Marsalis says, “When you come in contact with Duke Ellington, you’re interacting with the very substance and essence of what American life is about. It takes a while to really understand what it is…once you understand it, it transforms your life and opens you up to a world of beauty that perhaps you didn’t know existed.”
Dr. Erika Schafer is UTC’s newly appointed Assistant Director of Bands and Trumpet Instructor. Prior to her position at UTC, she was a member of the United States Navy Band in Washington, D.C. where she was a featured soloist and also performed with several chamber ensembles including the Brass Quartet and the Joint Services Brass Quintet. Furthermore, she was an active performer in other groups in the D.C. area including the McLean Symphony Orchestra and the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra among others. Dr. Schafer has previously taught at George Mason University and Catholic University, and she was the brass instructor at South County Secondary School and Edison High School, both in Virginia.
For further information contact the UTC Music Dept. Office, 423-425-4601 or visit http://utc.edu/music.
