Gustavus Jazz Lab Band Announces East Coast Concert Tour Posted on March 3rd, 2010 by Matt Thomas '00

The 2009-10 Gustavus Jazz Lab Band

The Gustavus Jazz Lab Band from Gustavus Adolphus College will embark on a six-day concert tour to various locations in Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia March 26-31.

The Gustavus Jazz Lab Band is directed by Dr. Steve Wright, a well-known Minnesota jazz educator, performer, and composer. Wright is in his 20^th year as director of trumpet and jazz studies at Gustavus. He has played lead trumpet for such performers as Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Ray Charles. He is a member of the Twin Cities Jazz Society, American Composers Forum, International Association of Jazz Educators, and the American Federation of Musicians. Wright will serve as the co-host of the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Minneapolis in May 2011.

For this concert tour, Wright has chosen works that showcase a variety of jazz styles and compositions. The program features standards made popular by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Thad Jones, and others, as well as originals by Kim Richmond, Rick Margitza, Michael Philip Mossman, and Wright himself.

The schedule for the upcoming tour is as follows:

• Friday, March 26 / Cleveland High School / Cleveland, Minn. / 7 p.m.
• Sunday, March 28 / Neighborhood Church of Greenwich Village / New York, N.Y. / 7:30 p.m.
• Monday, March 29 / Tenafly Middle School / Tenafly, N.J. / 9 a.m.
• Tuesday, March 30 / The Fairfax / Fort Belvoir, Va. / 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 31 / Our Savior Lutheran Church / Arlington, Va. / 7 p.m.

The ensemble will also have the opportunity to visit and play for the U.S. Navy Commodores – one of the premiere military jazz ensembles – on Wednesday, March 31.

The ensemble’s home concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 10 in Björling Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public. On April 16, the Jazz Lab Band will once again participate in the Eau Claire Jazz Festival where they will compete against other colleges and universities from the upper Midwest.

Since 1970, the Gustavus Jazz lab Band has developed a varied repertoire from traditional big band standards to modern compositions. It has toured annually since its founding and has toured throughout the United States, including several tours to both coasts, the Midwest, and New Orleans.

The tradition of concert touring by the music ensembles at Gustavus was established as early as 1878 for the musical, artistic, and educational benefit for the student members. Concert touring provides an opportunity to perform a concert program numerous times, fostering a deeper artistic understanding and expression of the music. It develops high levels of musical discipline and artistic integrity and allows the musicians to experience a variety of acoustic environments and widely diverse audience and ensemble dynamics.

The importance of music in the Gustavus undergraduate curriculum has long been recognized. Nearly half of its more than 2,500 students register for courses in theory, history, appreciation, pedagogy, and performance of music each year and many are members of some 30 performing ensembles.

The College’s Department of Music is housed in the Schaefer Fine Arts Center. The center’s music wing features the 475-seat Jussi Björling Recital Hall; a fully computerized music lab for students in music theory, composing/arranging, and class piano; class and rehearsal rooms; 30 private practice rooms; and the Lund Music Library, which contains more than 20,000 music recordings, 45,000 scores and anthologies, a music reference section, and listening equipment.

For more information about the Gustavus Jazz Lab Band and its upcoming tour, go online to gustavus.edu/finearts/touringschedule/ or contact Lisa Westphal, manager of music tours at Gustavus, at 507-933-7163 or lwestph2@gustavus.edu.

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Media Contact: Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication Luc Hatlestad
luch@gustavus.edu
507-933-7510