By Ainsley Green, Arts and Entertainment Editor
On Saturday Nov. 7, the Gettysburg College Jazz Ensemble performed in their second concert of the semester at 8 p.m. in the Majestic Theater. This big band style ensemble was conducted by Dr. Amanda Heim, coordinator of jazz and lecturer of saxophone at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music. They were joined by Jocelyn Gould, a JUNO award winning jazz guitarist and singer, who visited the College for a multi-day residency courtesy of the Sunderman Chamber Music Series. Camerata, the Conservatory’s small chamber choir, also was a part of the program, and was conducted by Dr. Robert Natter, director of choral activities at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music.
(By Grace Jurchak/The Gettysburgian)
The concert began with a set of five tunes performed by the Jazz Ensemble. They performed in a variety of styles and featured a more contemporary program. They performed “O.W.” By Mary Lou Williams, “Love Chant” by Charles Mingus and arranged by Steve Slagle, “Stolen Moments” by Oliver Nelson and arranged by Paul Jennings, “Long Yellow Road” by Toshiko Akiyoshi, and “Tundra” by Annie Booth.
Heim commented on the choice of the program as she introduced “Tundra,” saying “As you can see tonight, we have no shortage of music by women. We love this chart.” As much as Heim comments that she loves to program very standard jazz repertoire, she also sees the value in programming works by women composers, as well as making sure to include contemporary jazz into concerts as well.
(By Grace Jurchak/The Gettysburgian)
Next on the stage was Camerata, made up of eight singers, with two people on each voice part. They sang three standard jazz tunes from the Great American Songbook, which included “Autumn Leaves” by Joseph Kosma (English lyrics by Johnny Mercer) arranged by Ryan O’Connell, “I Thought About You” by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and arranged by Paul Langford, and “The Way You Look Tonight” by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Dorothy Fields and arranged by Paul Langford.
Natter remarked “The three songs kind of fit together as a set. They’re all love songs, a little bit different from each other,” in regards to the choice of program that was selected for these singers.
(By Grace Jurchak/The Gettysburgian)
Gould took the stage after an introduction from Heim, who said “We’ve been so lucky to have Jocelyn here for the past couple of days working with our students.” and performed three standard works solo on stage, playing the guitar and singing.
Gould told the audience, “I flew down from Canada on Thursday and we’ve been just doing a bunch of classes and learning and swinging and it’s been really, really fun.” This was in regard to the multi-day visit Gould had with students at the Conservatory, teaching lessons as well as giving a masterclass at the weekly Now Hear This recital hour.
The final set of the concert brought the entire Jazz Ensemble back on stage alongside Gould to perform three of Gould’s original compositions. Heim told the audience about the impact of bringing guest performers to work closely with students. “Hearing someone play at this level and still delivering such a positive and uplifting message has been really inspiring,” she said.
(By Grace Jurchak/The Gettysburgian)
The Jazz Ensemble performed “Io’s Orbit,” “I Haven’t Managed to Forget You,” and “Bright Note,” all by Gould and with many solos from Gould herself as well as the students in the ensemble.
This was Jazz Ensemble’s last performance of the semester, and they expressed gratitude for the great work they were able to accomplish with Gould as a guest artist for their performance.
