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Jan. 24, 2012
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Martin Saunders |
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Sim Flora |
Trumpeter Martin Saunders, who has performed with the likes of Frankie Valli, The Temptations and Frank Sinatra Jr., and trombonist Sim Flora, who recently released a collection of American hymns arranged for trombone and flute, will perform at the Morningside College Jazz Festival Thursday, Feb. 7, and Friday, Feb. 8, at Morningside’s Eppley Auditorium, 3625 Garretson Ave.
The two will perform both nights with the Morningside Jazz Band, each playing original pieces as well as other jazz arrangements. The concerts start at 7:30 p.m. General admission to each concert is $10. Students 12 and under are free. Tickets will be available from the Morningside College Music Department (712-274-5210), Ray’s Midbell Music (712-276-0351) or at the door.
During the day Thursday and Friday, jazz bands from 26 different high schools in Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska will each perform a 20-minute set. Three judges will record their responses to each set and tally scores for first- through third-place trophies according to school size, as well as select an overall best soloist. These sessions are free and open to the public.
After earning his doctorate in music from the University of Oklahoma, Martin spent seven years in the Air Force Band at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha as lead trumpeter and musical director of the jazz ensemble. He has been an active performer, featured soloist and clinician for various universities, competitions and festivals throughout the country. Among other things, he was a featured soloist with the Huntington Symphony Orchestra for their Summer Pops series, and he has served as an artist faculty member for the National Trumpet Competition in Washington, D.C. He currently serves as associate professor of trumpet and jazz studies at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., where he is also a member of the Faculty Brass Quintet and Faculty Jazz Ensemble.
Flora, who also earned his doctorate in music from the University of Oklahoma, is an active jazz educator, conducting clinics and workshops and performing as a guest artist. Among other things, he served on the faculty for Clark Terry’s All-American Jazz Camps and for the Alessi Seminar at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He served as a guest soloist at the Eastern Trombone Workshop in Fort Myer, Va., and at Tromblowin’ 2008 in Charlottesville, Va. He has held college teaching positions at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Baptist University. He currently is chairman of the theory and composition department at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark. He recently released a CD called “Sound Doctrine.”
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