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| SWOJO Plays the Music of Hazel Leach, August 25, The Triple Door Mainstage The Seattle Women's Jazz Orchestra (SWOJO) will perform an all-ages concert at the Triple Door Mainstage on Thursday, August 25, featuring music composed, arranged and conducted by Hazel Leach. SWOJO will be joined by vocalist Greta Matassa for this performance. Hazel Leach was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Having completed her studies at the Newcastle School of Music (jazz saxophone and classical flute) she spent the next few years working as a free-lance musician/arranger. Hazel moved to Holland in 1979, to work as a flute teacher in a music school. Teaching activities continue at the Arnhems conservatorium where she has been teaching jazz theory and ensembles since 1985. At present Hazel is leader of an international big band based in Germany--The Women's United Orchestra--and continues writing and arranging. Her composition Mabel's Birthday was a prizewinner in the Hemphill Awards 2000 (Jazz Composers Alliance, USA) and her Cerasarda composition won first prize in the “Scrivere in Jazz” competition in 2000. SWOJO is proud to present Hazel and her music to Seattle audiences. “I like to experiment with musical structures which are flexible enough to allow for improvisation without losing the structural lines, and the sheer size of a big band provides endless possibilities. It's nice to work with good soloists who can add their own voice to the music- my personal statement becomes a collective one, and the whole is often greater than the sum. I'm also fascinated by the emotional content of music (the “goose-pimple factor”) and its relationship with the technical elements: the “greats” like Bach, Stravinsky, Gil Evans and Kenny Wheeler (to name but a few) can make your hair stand on end with music written within nearly mathematical structures...” –Hazel Leach write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |