Jazz Ensemble, Chamber Singers to Perform Holiday Concert
Rocco Hanes
The holidays are upon us once again and not much goes better with being in high spirits than music. To kick off this season, the Manchester music department is putting on a holiday and jazz concert for the public. Originally listed as a jazz ensemble concert, the concert is now featuring the Chamber Singers and the Jazz Combo along with the Jazz Ensemble. The Manchester alumni office has also decided to invite alumni to the concert and make it an alumni event, although anyone is welcome.
The concert is expected to last a little over an hour and will have a few breaks as different groups switch on and off. To start off the show, the 12 members of the Chamber Singers group will start off with an all-holiday line up. Following the Chamber Singers, the Jazz Combo group will begin their session. They will be playing a collection of jazz favorites.
To finish the concert the Jazz Ensemble will play a two-part set. The first part will include three jazz favorites including the classic jazz standard “In the Mood.” To wrap up the concert in style the second set will be featuring three holiday tunes. The first song will be “Silver Bells” featuring Derrick Golden on the trumpet. Golden is the director of event technology at the university, but he is also heavily involved in the music department. “This guy is really phenomenal on the trumpet, and we are lucky to have him,” stated director Dr. Scott Humphries. After “Silver Bells” will follow a ballad version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” An up-tempo jazz waltz interpretation of “Greensleeves” will close the concert.
This is the first concert for the music department since the Homecoming concert in October. The preparation for this concert has been hectic as the switch to a three-group concert was made only a couple weeks ago. The Jazz Ensemble was originally only supposed to perform so they have had to change their plans for the concert. “We had to back up and do a couple of things we didn’t think we would have to, but I am very proud of how flexible the Jazz Ensemble has been in getting ready,” Humphries said with a smile.
The concert begins 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 10, in Cordier Auditorium. General admission is free and masks will be required. For those who will be unable to attend in person, the concert will be live streamed and can be found on either the Manchester or Manchester Facebook page. Both will be streamed simultaneously on the pages. As Humphries said: “It is going to be a good concert!”