On Saturday, April 9, NC State’s music department ended the semester on a high note with its spring jazz orchestra concert. The performance showcased music from the jazz orchestra as well as combo groups and a special appearance by Jeffrey Phillips, an adjunct trombone and commercial brass instructor at Belmont University and member of the Belmont Faculty Brass Quintet.
The jazz orchestra is made up of 19 musicians, and the concert showcased incredible talent from saxophone, trumpet, trombone and rhythm players alike.
The musicians played a variety of musical selections, including a rendition of “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” and several original pieces.
Wes Parker, the director of jazz studies at NC State and teaching professor with a doctorate in musical arts, said the jazz orchestra typically has concerts once or twice a semester. Throughout the year, the band meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Price Music Center.
The band had prepared for its spring concert for weeks and its efforts paid off. The musicians shined with passion and spontaneity.
“I was just blown away by how much fun they had and how musically they played and just how they interacted with each other,” Parker said.
The connections between band members were emphasized throughout the concert. The band is made up of students from all different majors and years who have connected through their love of music.
Drummer Coleman Williams, a fourth-year studying environmental and marine science, said the part he would miss most after graduation was the friendships he had made in the group.
“It’s been one of the most fun things to be able to do, to have a group of people that are passionate about something, in this case music,” Williams said. “When I’ve got a lot of work and projects, and especially now at the end of the semester that’s piling on, it’s great to have some solace and know every Tuesday and Thursday I get to meet with my combo and the big band. And I know that I have that time and I can just disappear into it.”
During his time at NC State, Williams founded and led a new combo called the Cates Avenue Octet, a group of eight musicians specializing in jazz improvisation. The octet performed Saturday night with a few originals and covers.
Chris Suggs, a graduate student studying mechanical engineering, played trumpet and flugelhorn at the concert.
“I like the freedom we have to kind of do things how we want to do it, to a certain extent obviously, but we get a lot of freedom to make it what we want to make it,”Suggs said.
Despite the immense musical talent of the jazz band, no member is majoring in music since NC State does not offer a music degree.
“What I’m really proud of is that we offer them an opportunity to function musically on a very high level,” Parker said. “They go out in the world and they spread that to people that wouldn’t otherwise be getting it.”
Last week the jazz orchestra was accepted to the 76th annual Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, the largest music education conference in the world, which will take place in Chicago in December.
Those interested in auditioning for the jazz orchestra should check out the music department’s audition website as well as contact Parker. Those interested in attending any of the music department’s upcoming concerts should check out its event page.
