Name: Collaborative Connections in Jazz
Start: 2023-03-24T19:30:00-06:00
Location: Quance Theatre

Collaborative Connections in Jazz

USask SFTA - Music

Quance Theatre

Ticket sales for this event have ended. However, tickets will be available at the door. See you soon!

Under the direction of Dean McNeill dean.mcneill@usask.ca the USask Jazz Ensemble has toured western Canada, northern USA and Quebec, and, has commissioned and premiered many new works for the contemporary large jazz ensemble idiom. This ensemble has released 6 CDs in their ‘Bumper Crop’ series and has performed in venues such as Edmonton’s acclaimed Winspear concert hall. The UofS Jazz Ensemble has performed with many specular guest artists including (trombonists) Slide Hampton, Wycliffe Gordon, Hugh Fraser and Al Kay, (trumpeters) Jens Lindemann, Allen Vizzutti, and Brad Turner, (saxophonists) Campbell Ryga, Jim Brennan and Kelly Jefferson, and rhythm section players Jon Ballantyne (piano), Rodney Whitaker (bass), Jon McCaslin (drums) and Murray Porter (piano).This concert will feature 10 time Juno Nominated composer/saxophonist Tara Davidson https://www.taradavidson.ca and acclaimed Usask Jazz Ensemble alumni trumpeter Adam Streisel https://www.instagram.com/streiselmusic/?hl=en.This concert will also feature the Evan Hardy Collegiate Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Stacey Mortenson-Spokes.Tara Davidson: Tara Davidson is an award-winning alto and soprano saxophonist who has performed around the world at such prestigious venues as New York City’s Carnegie Hall, the acclaimed North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, the International Jazz Festival in Lima, Peru, the JZ Jazz Club in Shanghai, China, and The Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C. Davidson is a multiple JUNO Award-nominated artist. As a bandleader, Davidson has produced seven recordings since 2004 and performed on more than thirty recordings as a side musician. Five of her seven recordings as a leader or co-leader (Carn Davidson 9) have been nominated by the JUNO Awards for “Album of the Year” in the “Traditional”, “Solo” and “Group” jazz categories. Her bands have been comprised of various configurations from duo to nonet and have included such personnel as Mike Murley (saxophone), William Carn (trombone), Laila Biali (piano), Kelly Jefferson (saxophone), Andrew Downing (bass and cello), David Braid (piano), and Ernesto Cervini (drums), among many others. Davidson has been associated with seven additional JUNO nominations for her work as a side musician with Andrew Downing’s Otterville, Ernesto Cervini’s “Joy” project, Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop (x2), the Mike Murley Septet, CBC Records’ “Jazz Legends Live” project, and Jens Lindemann’s Order of Canada Band (Yamaha Big Band member). In 2020, Davidson won a JUNO Award for Jazz Album of the Year: Group as a member of Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop. Some of Davidson’s other honours include being selected as the lead alto saxophonist for the Canadian National Jazz Orchestra in 2022 and for the European Broadcasting Union’s “European Youth Jazz Orchestra” in 2008, being selected as one of five finalists in the Mary Lou Williams “Women in Jazz” saxophone competition in 2008 and being selected as one of three finalists for the Toronto Arts Foundation’s “Emerging Jazz Artist Award” in 2015. In 2013, Davidson was awarded the Ontario Arts Council’s “Chalmers Professional Development Grant” to study with saxophone legend, Dick Oatts, in New York City. Davidson also enjoys a diverse freelance career as a woodwind player (saxophones, clarinet, and flute). She has worked with musical theatre companies such as the Stratford Festival, the Musical Stage Company (formally Acting Upstage), and Drayton Entertainment, and with such symphonies as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Ballet Orchestra, and the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony. Studio and performance opportunities have allowed Davidson to perform alongside such artists as Joel Frahm, Shirley Bassey, Oliver Jones, Tommy Banks, Wycliffe Gordon, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Terri Lyne Carrington, Jazzmeia Horn, Ingrid Jenson, Christine Jensen, Jens Lindemann, and Gary Versace. Davidson is an active educator. She is on faculty at the University of Toronto and York University. Davidson has been a guest faculty member for the National Music Camp (NMC Jazz Faculty), Ottawa’s Jazzworks Jazz Camp, the Interprovincial Music Camp (IMC Jazz Faculty), Saskatoon’s TD Jazz Intensive Workshop, and the Stanford Jazz Workshop. Tara Davidson is proud to be a Yamaha Artist and plays their Custom Z alto saxophone, Custom CSVR clarinet, and YFL-577 Series flute.Vanessa Klassen:As a Saskatchewan native, Dr. Vanessa Klassen seeks to perform and promote Canadian clarinet compositions, many of which are seldom performed. As a concerto competition winner in 2021, she performed Canadian composer Stephen Chatman’s Prairie Dawn as soloist with The Ohio State University Symphony Orchestra. Vanessa has performed and presented at festivals such as the International Clarinet Association&#x27;s ClarinetFest®, the Brandon University Clarinet Festival, and Klarinet Kerfuffle (Saskatoon, SK). As a member of the all-women Bella Clarinet Quartet, she is committed to emphasizing inclusion in music with current projects focused on elevating female composers. In addition to researching, performing, and teaching, Vanessa creates fun arrangements for clarinet ensembles and features her own recordings on her YouTube channel, ClarinetColours. Vanessa’s passion for music has emanated from her principal clarinet teachers: Dr. Caroline Hartig (The Ohio State University), Dr. Catherine Wood (Brandon University), and Steve Mealey (Kindersley, SK).Adam Streisel:Musician and educator Adam Streisel was born and raised in Saskatoon and is an alumnus of the University of Saskatchewan. He is an accomplished trumpet player who records and performs in a variety of musical styles throughout Saskatchewan and neighboring provinces. Adam has toured, performed, and recorded with FunkJoint, Saskatchewan Jazz Orchestra, Randy Woods Band, Gerard Weber Group, Heidi Monro, Bridge City Brass Band, Elim Tabernacle Church, and many other local musical ensembles.A devoted music educator, Adam Streisel teaches in the Saskatoon Public School Division at École College Park School. He teaches Grades 6-8 Band and has garnered universal admiration for his passion and entertaining approach to playing and teaching music.Evan Hardy Junior Jazz:The Evan Hardy Band Program, directed by Stacey Mortenson-Spokes, currently has 150+ students between three concert bands, two jazz bands, a drumline and several jazz combos. The Junior Jazz is made up of grade 9 and 10 students, many of whom are beginners to their jazz instrument or only in their second year of &quot;normal&quot; band. These students meet once a week after school and have been working hard to learn many new styles, three of which they will be performing for you tonight! We also have several students improvising regularly and soloing this evening. We would like to thank Dean McNeill and the U of S Jazz Band for this wonderful opportunity.

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