Jazz Ensemble Concert May 2

The HSU Jazz Ensemble Concert will be held on May 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Van Ellis Theatre and will be open to everyone. The ensemble is open to all Hardin Simmons students and includes music majors, non-music majors, undergraduate students and even graduate students. 

 This year’s concert will be titled “Gangster Jazz”. It will feature the music of TV and movie crime shows, such as Peter Gunn, Richard Diamond and Cowboy Bebop. The Jazz Ensemble is directed by Jeffrey Cottrell. Cottrell described his favorite part of the ensemble. “My favorite part is when the student are rehearsing something that just isn’t quite working out right, and through our cooperative efforts, we find a solution that makes it sound cool,” he said.

Cottrell says he gets goosebumps every time he sees the performance. He tries to present a variety of music to the students throughout the year that will prepare them for playing professionally after they graduate. The director tries to have a fun theme for the concert when possible, such as what they are doing this May. Their rehearsals are a process of breaking down the individual elements of the music and then putting them together with the whole band in a correct balance.

“This can be tricky when the band is still learning their part, but I’m a patient man,” Cottrell said.

Putting a concert together also involves hours and hours of students practicing their parts outside of rehearsal on their own time. Come support these musicians on Tuesday and enjoy a fun show of classic detective music.