February 2018 no-cost jazz
Clockwise: Students perform at Berklee’s High School Jazz Festival, Dave Holland, Family and Children’s Concert Series, Bob Brookmeyer.
50th Annual Berklee High School Jazz Festival – A free day of jazz at Hynes Convention Center this Saturday, February 10. The Berklee High School Jazz Festival will celebrate its 50th anniversary, featuring a special honorary degree ceremony for jazz legend Ellis Marsalis. The event is the biggest jazz competition for high school students in the country, and will feature high school bands and vocal ensembles from 13 states, including all of New England, California, Illinois, Florida, and more. The festival, which is open to the public, will feature performances or workshops by National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Masters Ellis Marsalis and Delfeayo Marsalis in addition to workshops by jazz groups 7th Degree and House of Waters, a performance by the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra, and an awards presentation honoring high school ensembles, singers, composers, musicians, and educators. Festival hours are 8:00 AM – 8:30 PM.
Dave Holland Residency Concert – Awarded an honorary degree by New England Conservatory in spring 2004, that fall Holland began a series of residencies there in which he shares the many dimensions of his activities as soloist, composer, bandleader, and all-round musician. Student ensembles will be featured at this concert. Thursday, February 15th, 7:30 PM, at NEC: Brown Hall.
Celebration: The Legacy of Bob Brookmeyer – Ken Schaphorst conducts the NEC Jazz Orchestra in a concert of Bob Brookmeyer’s music, with the participation of six of his former NEC students, including a 150th Anniversary commission by Doris Duke Artist Darcy James Argue ’02 M.M. Argue was a Doris Duke Artist Award recipient in 2015. at NEC: Jordan Hall.
Family and Children’s Concert Series: Tufts Jazz Orchestra – Tufts Jazz Orchestra presents a concert for families and children under the direction of Joel LaRue Smith. Featuring works by Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, and Leonard Bernstein. Presented by Tufts University Department of Music at Distler Performance Hall, Saturday, March 10, 1 PM.