~2014-2015 is the Year of the Arts at Valdosta State University~
VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University will host the 2014 State High School Jazz Band Clinic and All-State Jazz Ensemble Auditions Friday, Dec. 5, through Saturday, Dec. 6. More than 100 students from 36 high schools are expected to attend.
Throughout the two-day event, which is sponsored by the Georgia Association of Jazz Educators and the Georgia Music Educators Association, the participating high school students will be placed in one of five honor jazz ensembles, where they will learn new music, enhance their skills, and attend a master class led by renowned saxophonist Don Braden. VSU last hosted the State High School Jazz Band Clinic and All-State Jazz Ensemble Auditions in 2010.
As part of the festivities, the VSU Jazz Ensemble, featuring Braden, will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5. The high school honor jazz ensembles will perform at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6. Both concerts are free of charge and open to the public and will be held in VSU’s Whitehead Auditorium.
“We are very excited about welcoming some of the top high school jazz musicians in the state to campus, along with their parents and teachers,” said David Springfield, an assistant professor of jazz piano and director of VSU’s Jazz Studies Program. He also directs the VSU Jazz Ensemble.
Braden is described as a musician of the highest caliber, one who is imaginative, technically excellent, and soulful. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Louisville, Ky., his first exposure to music came from his parents’ record collection and from radio. At age 13, he started playing tenor saxophone in middle school band class; two years later, he joined his first professional band and went on to be chosen first chair for the McDonald’s All-American High School Jazz Band and the McDonald’s All-American High School Marching Band.
Braden entered Harvard University in 1981, dividing his time between studying engineering and performing at jazz clubs around the Boston and Cambridge, Mass., area. He began composing more seriously during this time, writing and arranging pieces for several Harvard-based dance, film, and music projects, as well as for his own quartet.
In 1984, Braden moved to New York City. His first gigs were with the Harper Brothers Quintet and with organist Dr. Lonnie Smith and then with Betty Carter. After touring with the Wynton Marsalis Quintet for over seven months, he recorded with Carter on her Grammy Award-winning album, “Look What I Got.” He enjoyed gigs in Europe, Japan, and the Americas with Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, and many others; he was a member of the Freddie Hubbard Quintet from 1989 to 1991, followed by the Tom Harrell groups from 1993 through 1997. He has also worked with the Mingus Big Band, Kenny Barron, J.J. Johnson, the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, and others, as well as with his own groups. He has released 18 CDs as a leader or co-leader.
In addition to performing and composing for his own groups and CDs, Braden has composed for a number of projects. He spent four years as co-music supervisor/composer for Bill Cosby’s CBS sitcom, “Cosby.” He also co-wrote the theme song for Cosby’s CBS cartoon series, “Little Bill,” and composed music for Nickelodeon’s “Fatherhood.” He has written a number of big band charts and has composed or arranged several pieces for full symphonic orchestra.
Braden is currently serving a three-year interim appointment as guest conductor of the Harvard Monday Jazz Band, in which he played as an undergraduate. He also worked for two years as coordinator of jazz studies at Montclair State University and has served more than 16 years as music director of the renowned Litchfield Jazz Camp and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Wells Fargo Jazz for Teens program. He is also a visiting professor in the New York Comes to Groningen program at the Prince Claus Conservatoire in the Netherlands.
Whitehead Auditorium is located on the first floor of the VSU Fine Arts Building, at the intersection of Brookwood Drive and Oak Street.
Contact David Springfield at (229) 333-5805 or daspring@valdosta.edu to learn more.
On the Web:
http://www.donbraden.com/index.html
http://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts/music/
VSU Jazz Ensemble
David Springfield, director
Don Braden, saxophone soloist
Friday, December 5, 7:30pm
Whitehead Auditorium
Saxophonist Don Braden will perform a concert with the VSU Jazz Ensemble on Friday, December 5th at 7:30pm. Don has performed with such jazz greats as Betty Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Tom Harrell, Tony Williams and many others. He has recorded 18 CDs as a leader and is the conductor of the Harvard Monday Jazz Band. The concert is free and open to the public.
The Georgia Association of Jazz Educators
State High School Jazz Band Clinic
Saturday, December 6, 3:30pm
Whitehead Auditorium
The Jazz Ensemble concert will be in conjunction with the state jazz clinic and the Georgia All-State Jazz Ensemble auditions. This is a yearly event sponsored by the Georgia Association of Jazz Educators (GAJE) and the Georgia Association of Music Educators (GMEA). Over 100 students from 36 different high schools will attend and be placed in five honor jazz ensembles that will rehearse for two days and put on a concert Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. The event is hosted by different colleges each year – VSU last hosted in 2010. We are very excited about welcoming some of the top high school jazz musicians in the state to campus (along with their parents and teachers). The students will also attend a master class by Don Braden.