Clay Reporter

The Music Department and School of Fine Arts at Missouri Western State University will host the 16th annual MWSU/Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival on Thursday, Feb. 9, featuring performances by the MWSU Jazz Ensemble and KC Reeds and Rhythm. The festival is free and open to the public.

During the day, high school groups will be performing in the Hoff Conference Room (Blum Student Union room 219) and the Fulkerson Center. Each ensemble performs for the adjudicators, receiving recorded and written critiques of the performance from the clinicians. Immediately following each band’s performance, the clinicians will give a 25 to 40 minute clinic for the band, discussing and working on specific areas of their performance. 

“The primary focus and commitment of this festival is making this an educational and musical experience for students and directors alike,” said Bob Long, director of jazz studies. 

Clinicians for this year are Jim Mair, director of instrumental studies at Kansas City, Kansas Community College and artistic director of the Kansas City Jazz Alliance; Bob Harvey, retired Lee’s Summit R-7 School District band director and freelance musician in Kansas City; Steve Molloy, freelance Kansas City trumpet player and clinician; and Kathleen Holeman, vocal jazz and piano instructor at Missouri Western.

The KC Reeds and Rhythm will present clinics at 5:15 p.m. in the Fulkerson Center that will be open to the public.

The festival will conclude with a short concert by the Missouri Western Jazz Ensemble, Missouri Western’s premiere jazz group. The Jazz Ensemble has a rich and deep heritage of giving outstanding performances across the Midwest. Performances include the Elmhurst Jazz Festival in Chicago, the Wichita Jazz Festival, the Mobile Jazz Festival and the Missouri Music Educators Convention.

The festival will start at 8:30 a.m. with the MWSU Jazz Ensemble performing at 5:50 p.m. in the Fulkerson Center. The public is invited to attend this full day of jazz. There is no admission charge for the day.

For more information please call 816-244-5840 or email long@missouriwestern.edu.

Missouri Western State University is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit missouriwestern.edu.

Original source can be found here.