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| Vermont Jazz Center 7th Annual Emerging Artist Festival feat. Ekep Nkwelle Quartet The Vermont Jazz Center will present the 7th Emerging Artist Festival on Friday and Saturday, November 1st and 2nd. The event begins with youth jazz ensembles performing at 118 Elliot Gallery on Friday, November 1st, and continues at the Vermont Jazz Center on Saturday, November 2nd with student groups starting at 11:00 AM. Who: 7th Annual Emerging Artist Festival feat. Ekep Nkwelle Quartet Musicians: Ekep Nkwelle, vocals, Luther Allison, piano, Liany Mateo, bass, Kelton Norris, drums 11 student groups from area schools (Brattleboro Union High School-BUHS, Northfield Mount Hermon-NMH, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts School-PVPA, Amherst College, and UMass) When: Saturday, November 1-2 Friday: Youth musicians perform as part of Gallery Walk at 118 Elliot from 5 – 8 PM Saturday: Youth Musicians perform from 11:00 – 4:00 at the VJC, Ekep Nkwelle Masterclass @ 4:00 PM, Ekep Nkwelle Quartet Concert @ 7:30 PM Where: Friday @ 118 Elliot St. Gallery, Brattleboro, VT Saturday @ Vermont Jazz Center – 72 Cotton Mill Hill Ste #222, Brattleboro, VT Tickets available: online at www.vtjazz.org, by email at sarah@vtjazz.org, or reservations by phone at 802 254 9088. Donations to the VJC Scholarship Fund are encouraged. Ms. Nkwelle's concert will also be livestreamed. Students are participating from areas of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Please come and support your local young musicians and their excitement for jazz music! Headliner Ekep Nkwelle will present a masterclass at 4:00 PM on Saturday followed by a 7:30 pm concert with her quartet: Ekep Nkwelle, vocals; Luther Allison, piano; Liany Mateo, bass; Kelton Norris, drums. Ekep Nkwelle, a 24-year-old Cameroonian-American jazz vocalist, has carved her musical path from the vibrant streets of Washington, DC, to the heart of New York City's jazz scene – from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, to Howard University, to Julliard's graduate program in jazz. Nkwelle has sung with numerous jazz luminaries including Russell Malone, Cyrus Chestnut, Peter Washington, Emmet Cohen and Endea Owens. She has performed with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra as a featured artist and sung for audiences in iconic venues nationwide including Radio City Music, the Library of Congress, Blues Alley, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and the Strathmore. She has performed at the Newport, Montclair, Hudson, and DC jazz festivals as well. In 2023 Nkwelle was nominated by Wynton Marsalis to receive the Juilliard Career Advancement Grant; this recognition was soon followed by her performance on NPR's "Tiny Desk." Ms. Nkwelle was chosen by Dee Dee Bridgewater to participate in her exclusive, all-women artistic residency, The Woodshed Network. As one of Jazz at Lincoln Center's newest rising stars, Ekep Nkwelle is poised to shape the future of jazz. In-person tickets are available online at www.vtjazz.org, by calling the Vermont Jazz Center ticket line at 802-254-9088, ext. 1. Contact Eugene at eugene@vtjazz.org for educational group discounts. Handicapped access is available. Please call 802-254-9088 ext. 2 and leave a message with your phone number and estimated time of arrival. Livestream: The online streaming of this event is open to the public. We ask those tuning in to donate to support the costs of providing world-class music and educational programs at the VJC. write your comments about the article :: © 2024 Jazz News :: home page |