A Jazz Band Christmas

    Jingle bells will be ringing throughout Russell Auditorium Friday, Dec. 1, as the GCSU Jazz Band holds its inaugural holiday concert at 8 p.m.
     Todd Shiver, associate professor of music and director of bands at GCSU, said he hopes that this will become an annual event on campus.
    “Ever since we switched to the semester system (at GCSU) I have tried to do a holiday concert,” Shiver said. “This year it was a scheduling thing. The Dec. 1 date was open and I grabbed it and said I’d like a holiday concert.”
    According to the program, the concert will feature many classic holiday songs including “Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer,” “White Christmas” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” as well as some very jazzy tunes like “Santa Baby” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” among others.
    “I think it’s really good timing to get people into the holiday spirit, the jazz style lends itself really well to these songs,” Shiver said.
    The Jazz Band is made up of nearly 30 students and features saxophones, guitar, trumpets, trombone, piano and vocalists. Guest vocalists John Mason and Sydney Cash will also contribute their talents for the concert.
    The Jazz Band is well known throughout the area for their annual Fall and Spring concerts that attract students and jazz fans alike. Shiver said he thinks this event could become even bigger than the other concerts.
    “(The band members) have really been working hard to put on a good show,” Shiver said. “This concert is just going to be a lot of fun for everyone involved.”
    Tickets to the concert are available at the music department located at Parks Hall and will cost $3 for students and $6 for general admission. All proceeds go directly to help lower the cost for the Jazz Bands study abroad trip to the Czech Republic in May 2007.
    Shiver said that he expects the concert to sell out and suggests anybody interested to get their tickets early.
   
    For more information on the concert, contact the Department of Music and Theatre at (478) 445-4226.
    “This is a great opportunity to see the band,” Shiver said. “There is only one show, so don’t miss out; I really think people will be pleased and it will get them into the holiday spirit.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Dec 1 2006. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry