Joint Performance

The HSU Department of Music presents a joint performance of the HSU Symphonic Band and the HSU Jazz Orchestra on September 30 in the Fulkerson Recital Hall, beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $6, $2 for seniors and students, and free to HSU students. Tickets may be purchased at the HSU ticket office or at the door.

The Symphonic Band (wind instruments and percussion) will perform an eclectic program with a European emphasis, including works by Belgian composer Jan Van der Roost (Rikudim – Four Israeli Folk Dances for Band), and British composers Gordon Jacobs (a selection from the William Byrd suite) and Ralph Vaughan Williams. “That’s a little unusual for an American wind band,” conductor Paul Cummings said, “although these selections are done a lot in Europe.”

The cosmopolitan program is symbolized by Handel in the Strand, a work by Percy Granger, who was born in Australia, lived in England and emigrated to the U.S. America is further represented by Anthony Iannaccone’s “After A Gentle Rain.”

For its part, the award-winning HSU Jazz Orchestra has a rich history, playing with or opening for such noted jazz artists as Clark Terry, Louie Bellson, Herbie Mann, Mongo Santamaria, Ingrid Jensen and others.

The September 30 concert will feature a Charlie Mingus composition (“E's Flat, Ah's Flat, Too") arranged by HSU student and trumpet player, Tommy Obeso. Other selections include a Count Basie tune, “Down for the Count” (written by Frank Foster), “Stolen Moments” by Oliver Nelson and “A Bit of Heaven” by Curtis Fuller, arranged by Don Sickler.

The HSU Jazz Orchestra is conducted by Dan Aldag, currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at HSU. He is also a performer as trombonist with classical orchestras and jazz ensembles, having played with Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williams and the Manhattan Transfer, and as a soloist specializing in contemporary music for the trombone. His compositions for trombone and jazz band have been performed throughout the United States and Europe, and recorded on the Seabreeze Vista label.

The Jazz Orchestra regularly receives superior ratings at collegiate jazz festivals, and is just one part of a vital jazz program at HSU that includes another big band, three combos, a vocal jazz group, and courses in jazz improvisation and jazz history.

Paul Cummings conducts the HSU Symphonic Band. He is Assistant Professor of Music at HSU, and holds a California life credential in music. He is also an active performer on clarinet and saxophone, appearing with the Nova Vista Symphony, the Oregon Wind Ensemble, and the Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra. He is coordinator of the HSU music education program.

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