The Gustavus Jazz Lab Band, under the direction of Steve Wright, has been invited to participate at the prestigious Notre Dame Jazz Festival in South Bend, Ind., March 3-5.
The festival is the oldest collegiate jazz festival in the United States and each year bands across the nation audition to perform. This will be the first time that the Gustavus Jazz Lab Band has been invited to participate in the event. The Gustavus Jazz Lab Band is scheduled to perform at 9:15 p.m. Friday, March 4 in Washington Hall.
This honor adds to a number of accomplishments by the ensemble in recent years, including performances at jazz festivals in the Twin Cities; a concert tour in 2010 to New York City and Washington, D.C.; a live appearance on A Prairie Home Companion broadcast from Gustavus; and a number of top three finishes at the Eau Claire Jazz Festival.
In addition to the performance on March 4, the band will be critiqued by international jazz recording artists, The Clayton Brothers Jazz Quintet and have the opportunity to hear performances from other jazz ensembles from colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada.
One of the hallmarks of the Notre Dame Jazz Festival is its noncompetitive status, focusing on learning and not rankings. The judges will hear the performances and provide feedback for each group. They will also select outstanding musicians from each ensemble. Clinics by all the judges – with musical performances and a question and answer session – are open to all the performers and interested fans.
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