By GALEN HAWES
ADA – The East Central University Music Department will host the Oklahoma Jazz Educators’ Fall Workshop on Monday and Tuesday, November 4-5, at the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center on the ECU campus.
“This event has been hosted by different universities throughout the past 30 years,” said Kirk Palmer, director of the ECU Jazz Ensemble. “This will be my second time to host this event on the ECU campus after hosting two years ago.”
Starting at 1:30 p.m. Monday, there will be performances by high school jazz bands from throughout the state including Del City, Ada, Verdigris, Dale, and Beggs. Each band will have 30 minutes to showcase its talents and be adjudicated by top jazz educators from across the state.
The clinicians this year are Jeff Kidwell, University of Central Oklahoma; Heather Jones, Oklahoma Christian University; and Palmer.
“This event is primarily for high school band directors to watch their bands perform and also be critiqued to help find each band’s strengths and weaknesses,” Palmer said. “Band directors will be provided with suggestions and comments on how to properly fix those weaknesses to make each overall band stronger.”
The day will end with a performance by the ECU Jazz Ensemble and guest clinicians. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Ataloa Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.
-ECU-