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| "Shifts and Riffs: Symphony Meets Jazz" Concert The Monterey Jazz Festival and Youth Music Monterey announced a very special season finale concert, co-presented by both performing arts organizations, called “Shifts and Riffs: Symphony Meets Jazz” on Sunday, April 29, 2007 at Sherwood Hall in Salinas. This new and unique collaboration will bring orchestral and jazz music together on the same stage. The concert will feature an original arrangement of George Gershwin's Summertime by internationally renowned jazz educator Ray Brown, who will also guest conduct the piece. The iconic composition will feature the combined Youth Music Monterey Honors Orchestra and Monterey Jazz Festival High School All-Star Band. The concert will start off with performances by the Monterey Jazz Festival's Middle School Honor Band and High School All-Star Band. The Middle School Honor Band, conducted by MJF Education Director Dr. Rob Klevan, develops the talent of emerging jazz students from schools throughout Monterey County through the study of big band repertoire and performance of jazz composition and improvisation. The afternoon will also include Ciranda Orquestral by young Brazilian composer Douglas Fonseca who writes music for full orchestra with big band, performed by the YMM Honors Orchestra and MJF All-Star Band. Works by Dvorak, Bach and more will also be featured. ”I'm truly excited about this shared concert with our colleagues from Youth Music Monterey,” said Dr. Klevan, who will also conduct Ciranda Orquestral. “It is a great opportunity for all of our students to showcase their talents and I know the performance will be an experience they will always remember. As well, it is a thrill for me to stand in front of a group of 160 young and enthusiastic musicians. It is going to be quite a special Sunday afternoon!” The concert will also feature solos by the co-winners of Youth Music Monterey's annual concerto competition. Deanna Lynn, violist, will perform Romance for Viola and Orchestra by Max Bruch, and Tyler Tolles will perform the Concerto in A minor by Bach, adapted for the marimba. ”Shifts and Riffs: Symphony Meets Jazz” is the 2007 season finale concert for Youth Music Monterey's Youth and Honors Orchestras. Both orchestras are conducted by professional conductor John Larry Granger. The orchestras are comprised of over 120 of the top musicians from over 36 schools throughout the greater Monterey Peninsula area. As one of the leading arts education and performance institutions in Monterey County, Youth Music Monterey is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing high caliber music education and performance opportunities to the youth of Monterey County. The Youth and Honors Orchestras provide a unique learning opportunity for over 120 of the best student musicians in the area. These talented young people delight hundreds of people in the community through quality performances at the Sunset Center and community events each year. Additionally, the orchestras complement and strengthen other local music programs. ”We are so excited to be working with the Monterey Jazz Festival on this special event,” said John Larry Granger, YMM conductor. “Music is often considered the universal language, but there are many different dialects. This concert will expose young jazz musicians to the joys of classical training, while giving our classical musicians the opportunity to learn jazz idiomatic rhythms. We are also so privileged to have Ray Brown guest conduct his wonderful arrangement of Gershwin's Summertime.” Participating in the concert's finale of Summertime will be one of the lauded groups of the vital educational programs of the Monterey Jazz Festival, the MJF County High School All-Star Band, which includes the best and brightest student musicians from the Festival's home county. Directed by renowned saxophonist and flautist Mr. Paul Contos, the 21-member MJF County High School All-Star Band features the finest young jazz musicians from high schools throughout Monterey County. Represented in the 2007 MJF County High School All-Star Band are students from the Monterey, Carmel, Pacific Grove, Salinas, Palma/Notre Dame, and York High Schools. The students will partake in the Festival's unique and exciting educational programs, including participation in a series of international concerts and cultural exchange programs, and will return to Monterey's sister city of Nanao, Japan in the summer of 2007 for public concerts and workshops with Japanese high school students and an appearance at Monterey Jazz Festival in Noto. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |