CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu
Drake University Jazz Ensemble I, which recently took first place in the big band competition at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Jazz Festival, will perform a free concert at 8 p.m. Friday, April 14, on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main, 2507 University Ave.
“Drake Jazz I has won in this festival every time it has attended, but this was the first year the top Drake Jazz small group won the collegiate combo division,” said Andrew Classen, director of jazz studies at Drake. “One of the judges gave the big band a perfect score and several students received solo awards.”
Jazz I has been invited to the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland this summer. This will be the ensemble’s third trip to Europe by invitation. Jazz I will round out the 14-day tour with performances in Austria, France and Belgium.
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