The College of Music presents two free performances of "Jazz: Spirituals, Prayer and Protest." The concert will feature MSU's Jazz Orchestras under the direction of Rodney Whitaker, director of jazz studies.
The concerts will be held at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at Wharton Center's Pasant Theatre. General admission tickets are free, but required for admittance. Tickets are available at the Wharton Center Box office and cannot be reserved by phone. They will be available on a first come, first served basis. Donations are welcome at the concert to benefit the Dr. Martin Luther Kind. Jr. Endowed Scholarship.
MSU Jazz Orchestra I, II and III will perform music of Stevie Wonder, Mike Tomaro and Oliver Nelson. The program will include the pieces such as "Too High," "Let the Word Go Forth," "A Genuine Peace" and "I Wish."
The performances will also feature a musical tribute to John F. Kennedy titled "The Kennedy Dream," written by Oliver Nelson and arranged by Kristopher Johnson, a 2005 and 2008 alumnus of the MSU College of Music. The Kennedy Dream is a semi-orchestral suite in which seven of the eight compositions are launched by brief sections of JFK’s speeches about equality and positive change.
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