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April 21, 2009

All that jazz

Local bands to hit plaza with Jazzfest

Jonathan Jackson

Bands taking part in the annual Heritage Plaza Jazzfest are tuning up for the Friday event, and some local students are taking tips from a professional musician prior to the big night.

Joe Grandsen, formerly with the Georgia College Jazz Band, visited two local schools Monday to offer tips and work with the jazz bands at Baldwin High School and Oak Hill Middle School as they work to prepare for their turns on the main stage at Friday’s jazz concert.

“April is Jazz Education Month,” BHS band director Clint Raburn said, “and it’s great to learn more about it, especially since jazz is the one music form that is purely American created and influenced.”

Raburn leads several bands at Baldwin High School and works with a number of students in the fine arts department to hone their musical skills — skills that have led the program to a multitude of personal and corporate awards.

The Oak Hill Middle School Jazz Band will take the stage following the Georgia Military College Jazz Band and will be followed by bands from Warner Robins and Jones County. Baldwin will take the stage and be followed by the Georgia College Jazz Band under the direction of festival organizer and Georgia College band director Todd Shiver.

The event is sponsored through a partnership between Georgia College’s Department of Music and Theatre and Allied Arts and promises to deliver a night of good jazz entertainment.

“We’ve had lots of people come in the past to see their kids and end up staying, enjoying the music,” Allied Arts Program Coordinator Brian Renko said. “All in all, it is a very well attended event and we want people to come out for the free performances. Bring a lawn chair and a picnic and enjoy the night with your family.”

The event will be held at the Black Heritage Plaza, between Allen’s Market and the Milledgeville Police Department on West McIntosh Street. GMC’s Jazz Band will be the first to take the stage around 5 p.m. Georgia College’s Jazz Band will begin playing around 8 p.m. The Georgia College Jazz Band will feature guest jazz trumpeter Dr. Gordon Vernick, associate professor of music and coordinator of jazz studies at Georgia State University.

Vernick has played in all musical mediums across the nation and in the Caribbean. He is director of the GSU Faculty Jazztet, a frequent guest of Atlanta area schools, and has played in the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Brasstown Music Festival, the Oxford University Music Series and many other venues in the Southeast, according to a press release from Georgia College.

This is the third year the festival has been held at the Black History Plaza. Previously, Jazzfest was held on the front campus of Georgia College. The festival was started in 1990. Baldwin High School has been affiliated with the festival since its inception, Raburn said.

Festival organizer Todd Shiver was the band director at Baldwin High School when the festival was started by then Georgia College Music Department Chair Jim Willoughby.

“Bringing in Joe Grandsen was a way to expose these students to a professional musician,” Renko said. “We’re really excited about Jazzfest, and we hope everyone will come out to this free evening of jazz.”

Admission to the concert is free. For more information, call Allied Arts at (478) 452-3950 or the Georgia College Department of Music and Theatre at (478) 445-4226.

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