WSU, SMU present Hop-a-Concert jazz performances April 2
WSU (top) and SMU (bottom) jazz students will perform April 25.
WINONA, Minn. — Winona State University and Saint Mary's University jazz ensembles will present a Hop-a-Concert – five jazz performances featuring Winona's talented students — at both schools (and the Acoustic Café) on the same day, Friday, April 25.
This event is the first-ever collaboration between students of the two jazz programs. John Paulson and Rich MacDonald, directors of jazz studies at SMU and WSU, decided to plan this evening of jazz after collaborating on live monthly jazz jam sessions at the Acoustic Café in Winona.
The schedule:
• From 6 to 7 p.m., two SMU Workshop Jazz Combos, directed by Paulson and Eric Heukeshoven, will perform a casual pre-concert set in the SMU Performance Center lobby.
• From 7 to 7:45 p.m., the SMU Jazz Ensemble, directed by Paulson, performs in Page Theatre, also in the SMU Performance Center.
• From 7:45 to 8:15 p.m., WSU Jazz Combos, directed by Richard Hammergren, perform in the WSU Performing Arts Center lobby.
• From 8:30 to 9:15 p.m., the WSU Jazz Ensemble, directed by MacDonald, performs on WSU’s PAC mainstage.
• And from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. SMU and WSU select Jazz Combos close the jam at the Acoustic Café.
Paulson has been at the helm of jazz at Saint Mary's University for more than 25 years, and MacDonald at Winona State for the past 12 seasons. The two have hooked up on a number of jazz projects as players, including several of Paulson's CD recordings. They have also featured each other on jazz concerts at their respective schools.
The Saint Mary’s jazz ensemble will highlight many soloists from the band on Dean’s Sorenson’s “Rain Delay.” Also included will be “Moanin’” by the Mingus Band, featuring Tommy Quinn on bari sax; “Shake Your Bones” by Gordon Goodwin and “Passion Flower” by Billy Strayhorn, featuring the talents of Vanessa Grams on soprano and alto saxophones; “Riverscape” by Wisconsin composer Fred Sturm; and the bebop standard “Ladybird” by Tadd Dameron. Earlier this semester, the SMU Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo One toured the Twin Cities area and attended the International Association of Jazz Educators’ Convention in Toronto.
The Winona State University jazz ensemble will feature a new composition from one of its members. Jake Runestad, who has been honored as the Minnesota Collegiate Composer of the year for the past two years by the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA), has written a piece titled, “Home,” which features himself on alto saxophone and trumpeter, Mike Granseth. The group will also feature WSU faculty jazz pianist, Larry Price on two numbers, “Threads,” written by Neil Slater and “Somebody's Waltz” by Tom Matta. The band has had a full year of performances, including many appearances both locally and regionally. They were selected to perform at the MMEA mid-winter clinic this past February, and also made a trip to Toronto, Ontario to the IAJE conference in January. They are getting ready to record their first CD in May and they hope to have it available by this fall.
Admission to both events is $10 for adults and $6 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at either WSU or SMU. At SMU, call (507) 457-1715 or visit www.pagetheatre.org, and at WSU, call the music department office at (507) 457-5250. Individual concert tickets may also be purchased at the door.
