by Kage Sanderson | Oct 8, 2014 | News Slider
The first outdoor jazz concert in years will be something special, according to Lipscomb director of instrumental ensembles and music professor Dr. Stephen Rhodes. “The combo soloists are outstanding local musicians who I guarantee will entertain the audience,” Rhodes said of the show that begins at 5 p.m. Oct. 3 in Bison Square. Rhodes will be directing an outdoor performance of a seven-piece Dixieland Jazz combo. Local jazz musicians will join the University Wind Ensemble for the special performance on the Collins Alumni Auditorium steps. “This will be the first outdoor concert in many years, so we are looking forward to providing some special music late in the afternoon in Bison Square, just before supper,” Rhodes said. “Among our selections we will feature a special piece called ‘Playing With Fire’, written by Frank Ticheli.” Rhodes says that ‘Playing With Fire’ is a very exciting piece that “harkens back to the style made famous in New Orleans a hundred years ago before jazz spread throughout the country.” After the outdoor concert on Monday evening, there will be 10 more concerts throughout the rest of the fall semester including a Faculty and Friends concert, Chamber Orchestra performances, a Jazz concert series and more. Don’t miss these special performances, which are free to Lipscomb...
by Aaron Schmelzer | Apr 22, 2014 | News Slider
The University Wind Ensemble played with fire in Collins Alumni Auditorium on April 21 with a professional Dixieland Jazz Combo for the ensemble’s spring concert. The seven-piece jazz combo, along with the University Wind Ensemble, performed a set of pieces called “Playing with Fire.” The pieces were “A la Bauduc,” “Shades of Blue” and “Polyphonies and Riffs.” The Dixieland Jazz Combo was made up of Sam Levine on the clarinet, Alan Suska on the cornet, Creighton Miller on the trombone, G.R. Davis on the double bass, Chris Nelson on the drums, Mark Godwin on the banjo and Kevin Madill on the piano. The wind ensemble prepared all semester for the show; however, the students were only able to rehearse with the jazz combo the night before. Despite the adversity freshman trombone player Robert Glenn said the experience was a good one. “Playing with a Dixieland Jazz Combo is fantastic. They’re just great musicians, and I’m very glad I got the opportunity to play with them,” Glenn said. The wind ensemble opened the night by preforming “Lassus Trombone” by Henry Fillmore, then followed that with “Watchman, Tell Us of the Night” by Mark Camphouse. The first two songs were conducted by Dr. Stephen L. Rhodes. The final piece before the jazz combo played was the “English Folk Song Suite.” The first piece, “Seventeen Come Sunday,” was conducted by J. Elliot Bowman. The second piece, “My Bonny Boy,” was conducted by Bailey Werner. The third and final piece, “Folk Songs from Somerset,” was conducted by Grace...
