The UK Jazz Ensemble performed their final on-campus concert of the semester at the Singletary Center for the Arts on Thursday, Nov. 2.
With special guest Ryan Middagh from the Blair School at Vanderbilt University, the ensemble performed a collage of 10 pieces, with four of those being arranged by Middagh for the ensemble.
“This is our last on-campus concert this semester,” Miles Osland, UK professor of 35 years and the Jazz Ensemble director, said. “We didn’t have a lot of time in between concerts, so I’m very proud of the way that the guys put a lot of really hard music together real quickly.”
Two of the songs performed at the concert were written by Osland.
Each piece featured solos from different members of the ensemble.
UK senior Dalton Stanland was featured on the songs “One For Wayne,” “Tenor Madness” and “Espoo You.”
“The music is great, but if you really enjoy the music with the people you play it with it makes it so much better. Everyone is so supportive, so cool and extremely talented,” Stanland said.
Stanland said he has been a member of the Jazz Ensemble since his freshman year at UK and was encouraged to audition after the band performed at his high school during his senior year.
“The UK Jazz Ensemble came over and played at my high school, Lafayette High School, so I remember getting really excited, and when I came to audition for the UK School of Music I saw that there were several ensembles you could audition for,” Stanland said.
The Jazz Ensemble performed at Henry Clay High School earlier in the day. Osland said that the experience served as a learning experience for the ensemble.
“I like to think that we’re edutainment if you will. Education plus entertainment. Edutainment is what we do when we do a concert like this,” Osland said.
The Jazz Ensemble is changed semesterly, and participants are required to audition at the start of each term, according to Osland.
Any UK student can audition for the ensemble, and the number of participants accepted ranges from 18-20.
“I auditioned for this (jazz ensemble) and classical, and I’ve been in this ensemble for, this is my 9th semester now,” UK graduate student Clifton Grady said.
Some participants in the ensemble said that while playing multiple shows was stressful, they had a good time performing.
“I try to think of the stress as like a coat. You just wear it, you put it on, and you just go and have a great time,” Stanland said.
