ANGELINA COLLEGE HOSTING PINEYWOODS JAZZFEST, CLINICS IN MARCH
Imagine
attending a concert to hear some of your favorite jazz music – and then
having some of those musicians teach you exactly how to play it.
That is the premise behind the eighth annual Pineywoods Jazz Festival
and Clinics organized by Larry Greer, Instructor of Music in the
Angelina College Fine Arts Division. The festival and clinics take place
March 28 and 29 on the Angelina College campus, and are open to all
junior high and high school students and/or Angelina College students
with high school or junior high band experience. No experience in jazz
music is necessary.
For years, Greer, his Swinging Roadrunner Jazz Band and ACC Big Band,
and an array of clinicians has presented the two-day festival featuring
a Friday night concert followed by Saturday’s full day of instruction in
the art of jazz musicianship. According to Greer, the camp is intended
to showcase the college’s musicians while offering an opportunity for
potential members to learn the art of playing in an actual jazz combo.
The concert, featuring the Swinging Roadrunner Combo and the ACC Big
Band, will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 28 in Hudgins Hall.
The clinics take place on the following Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Clinics will include jazz history, basic jazz improvisation, individual
instruction in small combos, and performance.
This year’s guest artist is Sparky Koerner, Chairman of the Performing
and Visual Arts at the College of the Mainland in Texas City, TX. Koerner is in his 24th year as Director of Instrumental Music/Jazz
Studies at COM; his Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo have won first place
honors at various jazz festivals throughout the state of Texas.
Koerner is a trumpet player who regularly performs in various
ensembles including the Galveston Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Sunday, The
Galvanized Brass; he is the bandleader for “Sparky’s Jazz Express.”
Other clinicians include Kevin Kelley, bass. from Kilgore College; Mike
McGowan, saxophonist, director of bands and Jazz studies at Panola
College; Jeff Shelton, a Stephen F. Austin University alumnus who
teaches at the Grace Bible School in Tyler; Valencia Edner, vocals,
Lufkin; and Larry Greer, guitar/piano, Nacogdoches.
Students looking to pre-register need to contact Larry Greer at (936)
633-5236 for a registration form. On-site registration will be from
8:15-9 a.m. March 29 in Hudgins Hall on the AC campus. Classes and
clinics will be from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1-4 p.m. Lunch will
be provided for all attendees.
To register for the festival, return the completed
Jazz Fest Student
Application
with the non-refundable entry fee of $40 per student, which covers
clinic, classes, all performances and lunch.
For further information, contact Larry Greer at (936) 633-5236.
