Bluntschly Junior Saxophone Recital, April 6

On Thursday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m., junior environmental science major and music minor Chanel Bluntschly (Ashland) will perform her junior recital on alto saxophone with pianist Susan Gregg. Her program will include Georg Philipp Telemann's Fantasia in A minor, Tableaux de Provence (Picture of Provence) by Paule Maurice, Laughing Gas by Jascha Gurewich, Valse Sonia and Saxophobia by Rudy Wiedoeft as well as Aleksandr Glazunov's Concerto in E-flat Major, Op. 109. The concert is free and open to the public.

Buchmelter Senior Trombone Recital, 3/26

Music education major Jaylynn Buchmelter (Wintersville) will perform her senior trombone recital on Sunday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall. She will be accompanied by pianist Mark Koehler and joined by guest performers Stefan Jonsson, piano; Garrett Rangel, bass; and Steve Berry, drums. Her program will be comprised of classic pieces such as Schubert's Winterreise  along with jazz selections including Horace Silver's Nira's Dream. The concert is free and open to the public.

Choral Concert Presents Songs of Hope and Renewal

On Sunday, March 26 at 4 p.m. in the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel, a spring choral concert will present a program titled "Deep Peace: Songs of Hope and Renewal." The concert will feature selections from the Ashland University Women's Chorus under the direction of Kimberly Wolbert, and the Ashland Area Chorus, directed by Elizabeth Slade, along with a joint performance by the two ensembles at the end of the concert of John Rutter's A Gaelic Blessing.

Accompanied by Susan Gregg on piano, the Women's Chorus will sing Jubilate Deo by Rebecca te Velde, Pur Ti Mior edited by Dr. Ann Small and Hope Is the Thing with Feathers by Susan LaBarr based on the text by Emily Dickinson. A special ensemble comprised of Victoria Miller, Keeleigh Myers, Morgan Tinnirello along with soloist BeBe Ciupak and percussionist Dave Wolbert will perform the traditional Swahili song Nishike mkono Bwana as arranged by Alex Gartner.

Ashland Area Chorus will present Carl Schalk's arrangement of Mendelssohn's Grant Peace, We Pray, Ubi caritas, No.1 from Quatre motets sur des thèmes grégoriens by Maurice Duruflé, Alice Parker's arrangement of Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal, and Moses Hogan's I'm Gonna Sing 'Til the Spirit Moves In My Heart featuring tenor soloist Tyler McKinney. 

Kelly & Wise Junior Recital, 3/23

On Thursday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m., music education majors Rachel Parfitt Kelly (Columbus) and Hannah Wise (Hartville) will perform their junior recital in the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall. Both sopranos will be accompanied by pianist Deb Logan and joined by guest vocalists Jacob Markley, baritone and Jacob Poiner, tenor. The program will include several musical theatre selections from shows such as Mame, White Christmas, Cinderella, Shrek, The Addams Family, Seussical, Spamalot and more. The concert is free and open to the public.

Ashland Co. Middle School Instrumentalists Recognized

In Celebration of Music in Our Schools Month, Ashland University Department of Music will host the annual Ashland County Middle School Honors Band on Sunday, March 19 at 4:00 p.m. in Hugo Young Theatre. The Ashland University Concert Band will be the featured guest ensemble conducted by Gary Ciulla, Ashland University Director of Bands. Lori Ciulla, former director of bands at Copley-Fairlawn Middle School, will conduct the middle school honors band.

Consisting of 75 members, the Ashland County Middle School Honors Band includes seventh and eighth grade students from Ashland, Crestview, Hillsdale, Loudonville-Perrysville and Mapleton Schools.  Members of the Ashland County Band Directors Association meet with Gary Ciulla and Ashland's Martin Kral, this year’s chairman, to plan the program. The committee of band directors selects the honors band members based on merit and instrumentation needs of the band. Students meet at Ashland University on Thursday, March 16 and Sunday, March 19 to rehearse and present this program with music ranging from classical selections to traditional marches.

The 65-member Ashland University Concert Band will open the concert with a cameo program of wonderful but unusual music chosen especially to highlight the day including Keith Brion's arrangement of John Philip Sousa's The Pathfinder of Panama, Prelude of Band by Claude T. Smith, The Ascension by Robert W. Smith, and Movement IV of Divertimento for Winds and Percussion by Roger Cichy. 

The combination of these two bands make for a rewarding, exciting and satisfying musical experience for both the performers and the audience. Admission is free and open to the public.

Bergeron Headlines Maplerock Jazz Festival

Ashland University’s award-winning jazz program is proud to present the 2017 Maplerock Jazz Festival slated for Friday, March 17. Along with free performances by area high school jazz ensembles from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the event presents a main stage concert at 7:30 p.m. in Hugo Young Theatre which features one of the most sought-after musicians in the world, jazz trumpeter Wayne Bergeron.

Bergeron will perform as the headliner of the Jazz Festival's evening concert which will open with the Ashland University Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Scott Garlock. Dan Pugach, drums; Jay Miglia, saxophone; and Chris Anderson, trombone will join Bergeron as guest artists on the evening program. When asked about hosting an artist of Bergeron's magnitude, Garlock exclaimed, "We are ecstatic to host and present the World's Greatest high trumpet player. Everyone wants him and he is coming to Ashland. He is also a great entertainer on the microphone, too." 

From his early career years as the lead trumpet chair with Maynard Ferguson’s band, Bergeron earned high marks from Maynard who remarked, “Wayne is the most musical lead trumpet player I’ve had on my band.” 

His endless list of performance and recording credits have soared ever since.  As a sideman, Bergeron’s list of recording credits reads like a who’s who in contemporary jazz and pop, running the stylistic gamut from Ray Charles to Green Day, Beyoncé, Barbra Streisand, Michael Buble, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Earth Wind & Fire, The Pussy Cat Dolls, Chicago, Rosemary Clooney, Barry Manilow, Lee Ann Womack and more. 

He has worked on over 350 TV and motion picture soundtracks including Moana, Frozen, Bridge of Spies, Despicable Me 1 & 2, Marley & Me, Get Smart, Superman Returns, The Simpson’s Movie, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Catch Me if You Can, and South Park.  His featured trumpet solos can be heard on the motion pictures La La Land, Minions, Jersey Boys, The Incredibles, Rocky Balboa, The Green Hornet and The Rat Pack, just to name a few. A short list of his numerous TV credits include NBC, ESPN & TNT sports themes, the major entertainment award shows, Entertainment Tonight Theme, Family Guy, Jeopardy, America’s Funniest Home Videos, King of the Hill and Hey Arnold.

Bergeron has been principle trumpet at the Pantages Theatre for over 15 years and is regularly featured with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He has done guest appearances with the L.A. Philharmonic, The New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra. Maybe Grammy winning composer and bandleader, Gordon Goodwin said it best, “Wayne is a once in a lifetime lead trumpet player.”

Joining Bergeron is Brooklyn-based drummer and composer Dan Pugach, who is originally from Israel and served his mandatory three-year military duty as the drummer of the Air-Force Orchestra. Described as “Rock-solid on drums" by Frank Alkyer in Downbeat magazine, Pugach works full-time as a drummer among artists that vary in genres. His work has gained him a reputation of one of the most versatile and sought-after drummers in New York City. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music and his Master’s from the City College of New York.

Guest saxophonist Jay Maglia performs regularly in the Famous Jazz Orchestra and Columbus Jazz Orchestra and is a member of the Black Swamp Saxophone Quartet, one of the few enduring professional saxophone quartets in the United States While pursuing his degrees in jazz and classical saxophone performance from the University of North Texas, he performed on several recordings with instrumental and vocal jazz ensembles including the acclaimed One O'Clock Jazz Band. Maglia has held teaching positions in saxophone and jazz studies at the University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, Ohio Northern University and the Toledo School for the Arts, and is currently on the faculties of Otterbein University and Capital University.

Trombonist Chris Anderson has played in idioms spanning classical, Latin, jazz and gospel. In addition to writing and performing many different styles of music, He has won various local and national competitions and has performed with groups including the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and the Jazz Heritage Orchestra. Anderson currently works with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District through the All-City Arts Program and is an instructor at The Music Settlement and Cuyahoga Community College. 

These four guest artists will workshop directly with the eight high school bands that will perform earlier in the day in Hugo Young Theatre. After each high school band performs their 30-minute concert, the guest artists will meet with the band and offer their expertise to strengthen the ensemble and individual musician's performance. The Jazz Festival's afternoon performances begin at 11:30 a.m. with the Rittman High School Jazz Band, followed at 12 p.m. with Ashland High School Jazz Band B, Hudson High School Jazz Ensemble II at 12:30 p.m., Lake High School Jazz Band at 1 p.m., Ashland Jazz Band A at 1:30 p.m., Hudson Jazz Ensemble I at 2 p.m., Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School Jazz Ensemble at 2:30 p.m., and Galion High School Jazz Band presents the final high school performance at 3 p.m.

The afternoon performances are free and open to the public while tickets for the evening concert are available through the Ashland University Box Office at 419.289.5125, 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or online (additional fees apply) at www.ashland.edu/tickets.  Tickets for the evening concert are $10 for adults; $5 for senior citizens, non-Ashland University students and Ashland University faculty and staff; and free for Ashland University students.