To help celebrate the holiday season, Henry Ford College (HFC) music students will perform in two respective concerts: the Winter Choral Concert and the Winter Jazz Concert.
The Choral Concert – comprised of the HFC Chorus and Blue Fusion under the direction of F. Marshall Dicks – is Sunday, Dec. 6, at 4 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, located at 21915 Beech St. (between Oakland and Monroe) in Dearborn. The HFC ensembles will perform choral and vocal jazz selections. In addition, the HFC ensembles will join with special guests, the Aeolian Chorale. General admission is $10 for adults and $7 for senior citizens and students with valid identification. Tickets will be available at the door.
The Winter Jazz Concert is now a “Jazz Recital,” according to Randall Knight, HFC associate dean of Social Science, Arts and Fitness. This concert takes place Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Room F-110 of the Grant U. MacKenzie Fine Arts Center (Building F) on the main campus. Admission is free and open to the public.
HFC is home to the largest music ensemble program of all two-year colleges in Michigan. Music ensembles from HFC have regularly toured and performed at special events across the country and in Europe. In January 2013, the Big Band and Midnight Blue Vocal Jazz Ensemble provided the dance music for the Inaugural Dance at the United States Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. for President Barack Obama. This was their fourth consecutive Presidential Inaugural performance. The HFC musicians also performed at National Museum of American History for approximately 4,000 attendees.
The Big Band has performed on major stages and prestigious venues throughout North America, Europe and the Caribbean, including Orchestra Hall in Detroit, Carnegie Hall in New York City, four U.S. Presidential Inaugurations (George W. Bush and Barack Obama) in Washington, D.C., Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, Edinburgh Jazz Festival in Scotland, Ford Detroit and Detroit International Jazz Festivals, the Virgin Islands, among many others.
The Big Band has shared the stage with jazz music greats including Maynard Ferguson, the Canadian jazz trumpet player and bandleader, and the legendary Count Basie Orchestra. In addition to receiving local, state and international recognition and awards, Big Band music and performances have been broadcast on Detroit PBS Television and BBC Radio. In fact, one Big Band member James Bostek played on “Conan,” the late-night talk show hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien.
Musicians in HFC ensembles represent a cross section of the HFC student body. Music courses are designed for music majors and liberal arts and technical students, as well as members of the community. In the latter case, community members are enrolled in HFC’s Continuing Education program in order to continue playing with the Big Band. HFC’s many bands, choirs, jazz bands, and vocal ensembles are open to all by audition. Students pursuing an associate degree in music fulfill requirements in music literature and theory, sight singing/ear training, music history. They also participate in one or more musical ensemble, including several concert bands, a jazz band, choirs and other vocal groups.
Source: HFC
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