MONROE - The Jazz Workshop and Jazz Ensemble of Monroe High School will present an evening of big-band jazz and swing at 8:07 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, in the high school's Performing Arts Center. The jazz ensemble from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville will be the guest performing group, and the three bands will combine for a grand finale to close the concert. Tickets are available at the box office on the night of the performance for $5.
The MHS jazz bands are volunteer groups which meet to rehearse before school two days a week, beginning in early November. The Jazz Ensemble is made up of more advanced players, and performs a series of concerts off-campus before the Christmas break as well as the May concert. Their repertoire consists of arrangements and compositions which emphasize improvisational soloing, as well as more independent sectional material and more intricate ensemble interaction. Swing, Latin, rock and ballad-style tunes are analyzed and rehearsed, while some tunes are played once in the rehearsal context to develop the students' music-reading ability in the jazz idiom. Less-experienced players make up the Jazz Workshop, which emphasizes basic concepts of jazz style and articulation. The students in both groups are encouraged to listen to jazz by finding recordings at the library or by going on line.
The selections to be performed on the concert range widely in style and substance, from Basie's "Smack Dab In The Middle" and "Travelin' Light" to Latin jazz "Bahia Allegre" and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Corcovado". For the more adventurous jazz fan, Mark Taylor's arrangement of Thelonius Monk's "Well You Needn't" and a jazz rock tune called "No More Mister Nice-Guy" fill the bill. And for those with more traditional tastes, "Come In From The Rain" ( recorded by pop star Melissa Manchester) and Glen Miller's timeless "In The Mood". The concert will conclude with the three bands combining to perform Count Basie's classic "Jumpin' At The Woodside" in a Grand Finale.
The public is cordially invited to attend, and proceeds from the concert are used to provide students with scholarships to summer music camps.
Randy Schneeberger directs the Monroe jazz groups, and Dr. David Cooper leads the UW Platteville band.
The MHS jazz bands are volunteer groups which meet to rehearse before school two days a week, beginning in early November. The Jazz Ensemble is made up of more advanced players, and performs a series of concerts off-campus before the Christmas break as well as the May concert. Their repertoire consists of arrangements and compositions which emphasize improvisational soloing, as well as more independent sectional material and more intricate ensemble interaction. Swing, Latin, rock and ballad-style tunes are analyzed and rehearsed, while some tunes are played once in the rehearsal context to develop the students' music-reading ability in the jazz idiom. Less-experienced players make up the Jazz Workshop, which emphasizes basic concepts of jazz style and articulation. The students in both groups are encouraged to listen to jazz by finding recordings at the library or by going on line.
The selections to be performed on the concert range widely in style and substance, from Basie's "Smack Dab In The Middle" and "Travelin' Light" to Latin jazz "Bahia Allegre" and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Corcovado". For the more adventurous jazz fan, Mark Taylor's arrangement of Thelonius Monk's "Well You Needn't" and a jazz rock tune called "No More Mister Nice-Guy" fill the bill. And for those with more traditional tastes, "Come In From The Rain" ( recorded by pop star Melissa Manchester) and Glen Miller's timeless "In The Mood". The concert will conclude with the three bands combining to perform Count Basie's classic "Jumpin' At The Woodside" in a Grand Finale.
The public is cordially invited to attend, and proceeds from the concert are used to provide students with scholarships to summer music camps.
Randy Schneeberger directs the Monroe jazz groups, and Dr. David Cooper leads the UW Platteville band.
