Northern Michigan University's music department will hold two concerts to close out November. Both concerts are free and open to the public.
The NMU Jazz Combos Concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29, in Reynolds Recital Hall. It will feature two student jazz combos. They are small ensembles consisting of a rhythm section, such as piano, guitar, bass, drums and two to three horns. The groups will be performing a variety of classic jazz tunes by composers such as Duke Ellington, Sonny Rollins, George Gershwin, Herbie Hancock and others. Audience members can look forward to an enjoyable evening of live music performed by talented student musicians.
On Thursday, Nov. 30, at the same time and location, the NMU Orchestra is back for its second concert of the semester, joined by the NMU Jazz Band. Orchestra professor Barbara Rhyneer and jazz instructor Patrick Booth will be directing the concert. The orchestra and jazz band are performing separately. Then, a "side by side" performance of selections from the “Nutcracker Suite” by Peter Tchaikovsky concludes with "Trepak" (Russian Dance!), which will combine the groups. Featuring artists will be Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohn, Jacques Offenbach, George Frederick Handel, Maria Schneider and Thad Jones.