Familiar songs will take on a new sound when the East Tennessee State University Jazz Ensemble returns to the concert stage this fall.
The ensemble will present “Pop Music” on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the ETSU Foundation Grand Hall at the Martin Center for the Arts.
Rather than focusing solely on traditional big-band repertoire, the concert will feature jazz ensemble arrangements of popular songs audiences know and love, allowing ETSU’s student musicians to bring the sound and energy of a full big band to familiar music.
The performance also marks one of the first opportunities for audiences to hear a Jazz Ensemble that looks considerably different from last year’s group.
“We have a lot of new players joining the band this semester,” said Martin Walters, director of Jazz and Commercial Music Studies at ETSU. “And I am especially excited to introduce these talented students to our audience.”
The concert will showcase the ensemble’s student instrumentalists and feature guest appearances by members of ETSU’s music voice faculty and student vocalists.
Together, the program will highlight collaboration, improvisation and musicianship at the heart of jazz while offering an accessible entry point for listeners through recognizable pop selections.
The Jazz Ensemble is part of ETSU’s Department of Music in the Phil and Martha Bachman College of Arts and Sciences, where students have opportunities to perform across a range of musical traditions and styles while developing their skills as musicians and performers.
Tickets are $12 for general admission and may be purchased by calling the Martin Center box office at (423) 439-2787 or online at etsumartincenter.evenue.net/events/DEPTM.
Proceeds from the concert support scholarships and program funding for students in ETSU’s Department of Music.
