ISSUED: 29 October 2015
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — The Shepherd University Jazz Ensemble will perform a wide range of music, including work by Sammy Nestico, Hank Levy, Johnny Mandel, Matt Harris, Thelonius Monk, Duke Ellington, and Arturo Sandoval during a concert on Friday, November 6, at 8 p.m. in the Frank Center Theater.
The Jazz Ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Kurtis Adams, assistant professor of music and director of jazz studies. Adams has performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra,the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, Ultraphonic Jazz Orchestra, Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, and the Ninth and Lincoln orchestra. In 2005, Downbeat Magazine named Adams college co-winner for best original composition for “Instable Mate?” In 2007 he was selected to participate in the Paquito D’Rivera Latin Jazz Workshop performing with the Grammy-winning saxophonist at Carnegie Hall in New York.
The Shepherd University Jazz Ensemble has performed throughout the East Coast and Europe. The Jazz Ensemble was invited to the Montreux Jazz festival in 2003 and played throughout Switzerland and Italy on a nine-day concert tour. In 1999 the band toured England and France. In the United States the band has been featured at the Longwood, the Blue Ridge, and the East Coast Jazz Festivals, as well as at regional festivals throughout Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey.
Admission to Jazz Night is free for Shepherd students with a valid Rambler ID, $10 for adults, $5 for Shepherd faculty, staff, alumni, senior citizens, and students 18 and under. Admission and seating is on a first-come first-served basis and reservations are not taken. The box office opens one hour prior to the performance. For more information call 304-876-5555, or visit www.shepherd.edu/music.
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