MCC Wind and Jazz Ensembles Concert

The Muskegon Community College Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble will perform on Wednesday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Overbrook Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

The Wind Ensemble, directed by Daniel M. Meyers, will perform three selections. Following a brief intermission, the Jazz Ensemble, directed by Tim Froncek, will play two pieces.

The Wind Ensemble selections:

“First Suite in E-flat” by: Gustav Holst Edited by: Colin Matthews. This work by the British composer Gustav Holst is considered one of the cornerstone masterworks in the concert band repertoire. Officially premiered in 1920 at the Royal Military School of Music, the manuscript was originally completed in 1909 .The First Suite has three movements, each with its own character and form. The complete composition is based upon an 8-measure melody reminiscent of English folk song, however, the tune is original to Holst.

“Block M Concert March” by Jerry H. Bilik. Voted one of the 100 greatest concert marches, it is known and performed all over the world. Block M March refers to the familiar logo of the University of Michigan. Though written when the composer was only 22 years of age, this march features a mature style, with contrasting brass and woodwind figures, prominent use of syncopation, and a driving tempo with a dramatic opening and conclusion.

“Shenandoah” by: Frank Ticheli. Educated at the University of Michigan, composer Frank Ticheli based his composition on an American folk song of the same name, whose popularity has not been dimmed by its uncertain origin and meaning. The shimmering beauty of the folksong prevails throughout this work.  The transparent sonorities mark the overall design of the piece, yet the mood easily shifts into moments of power and grandeur, capturing the noble American spirit inherent in the song.

The Jazz Ensemble selections:

 “Straight, No Chaser” by Thelonius Monk. A jazz standard was first recorded on Monk’s Blue Note Sessions in 1951. A 12-bar blues in B-flat which makes creative use of chromatics in the melody. Music educator Mark C. Gridley wrote that it “involves basically only one idea played again and again, each time in a different part of the measure and with a different ending.”

“Blue Bossa” by Kenny Dorham. Introduced on Joe Henderson’s 1963 album “Page One,” the tune is a blend of hard bop and bossa nova, possibly influenced by Dorham’s visit to the Rio de Janeiro Jazz Festival in 1961. The tune has since been recorded numerous times by different artists, making it a jazz standard.