UA Little Rock to Host Jazz and Wind Ensemble Concert Feb. 27
Music lovers will have the opportunity to experience the musical stylings of UA Little Rock’s Jazz and Wind Ensembles during a concert on Feb. 27.
The concert, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Building at UA Little Rock.
The concert will kick off with the Wind Ensemble, led by Dr. Nickolas Doshier, assistant professor of music, which will feature music in which individuals had to look within to overcome.
The selections include “On Parade” by Amanda Aldridge, “With Soul Serene” by James David, “Amazing Grace” by John Newton and arranged by Frank Ticheli, and “A Mother of a Revolution!” by Omar Thomas.
“One song that will be of particular interest is ‘On Parade,’ a march written for a military band composed by Amanda Aldridge,” Doshier said. “Born in London to African American Shakespearian actor, Ira Aldridge, Amanda Aldrige composed much of her music under the male pseudonym Montague Ring, including this wonderful 110-year-old march!”
The Jazz Ensemble, led by Dr. Michael Underwood, advanced instructor of music, will feature musical selections in honor of Black History Month.
“The UA Little Rock Jazz Ensemble is playing five pieces all involving Black American composers or pieces influenced by Black artists in honor of Black History Month,” Underwood said. “Every piece will feature different members of the ensemble.”
Selections will include “Buckjump” by Trombone Shorty, “There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York” from George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess,” Nat King Cole’s “Straighten Up and Fly Right” featuring student-vocalist Andrew Battie, Miles Davis’s “All Blues,” and Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4.”
