By Laura Nordstrom
The smooth and exciting sounds of jazz will fill BYU campus during the 30th Annual Jazz Festival for local junior high and high school performing groups this Friday and Saturday.
The festival offers students incredible opportunities to work with world-famous jazz musicians and performers.
?There will be clinicians that we are bringing in ? from around the country,? said Dr. Ron Brough, the division coordinator for jazz studies at BYU. ?One of the judges will actually go in a room and work with a band to help them get ready for competition. It is definitely a great opportunity to learn.?
The first day of the festival will include performances from junior high and middle school combos, large ensembles and soloists. High schools will perform on Saturday.
?I think it?s a great preparatory experience for us going to region,? said Howard Summers, the band teacher at Orem High School. ?They get performance experience in front of an audience and judges. I think there are good clinicians and also most of the kids are going to the concert that night so I expect that they will be pretty excited.?
Along with performances from the school groups, there will be concerts with guest artists and BYU performing groups.
Concerts will feature BYU?s Jazz Legacy Dixieland Band with guest artist Bryan Shaw, and Synthesis with guest artist Anthony Wilson, according to a press release.
The Jazz Legacy Dixieland Band will perform under the direction of Steve Call on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Under the direction of Ray Smith, Synthesis will perform with Grammy-nominated guitarist Wilson on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Wilson has recorded six solo albums since 1997 and has appeared with Diana Krall, Aaron Neville and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz orchestra.
Synthesis includes some of BYU?s finest and most versatile musicians. They have performed throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.
The Jazz Legacy Dixieland Band has earned an international reputation for quality performance and entertainment everywhere.
?The neat thing about jazz is it?s different every time you play it,? Brough said. ?Each concert is unique because people are creating on the spot and that is what makes jazz exciting.?
