Known for its tight harmonies, rhythmic accuracy and outstanding improvisational “scatting” abilities, Brigham Young University’s acclaimed Jazz Voices vocal jazz choir will perform Thursday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall.
The performance is free and the public is welcome to attend.
Formerly known as Syncopation, the group performs all styles of jazz including blues, bebop, swing, funk and Latin. Some music is sung a capella and other arrangements utilize the group’s piano, bass and drum accompaniment.
“I like to focus on classical jazz standards from the ‘30s and ‘40s,” said director Kelly Eisenhour. “But we also do some contemporary jazz, and since part of jazz music is improv, we do quite a bit of that.”
The program will include music such as “Stella by Starlight,” “I Remember You,” “Why Don’t You Write Me” and “Ticket to Ride.”
In her fourth year as director of the ensemble, Eisenhour continues to expand the group’s reputation and excellence. Eisenhour brings a variety of experience from the professional music world. She graduated from the Berklee School of Music in Boston and has been featured as a soloist with the Boston Pops and Utah Symphony. She has also performed with well-known artists such as Gladys Knight, and taught at UNLV before moving to Utah.
“We’ve had a jazz program at BYU for three decades,” said Ron Simpson, media music and jazz coordinator for the BYU School of Music. “Kelly Eisenhour is continuing to make the program a national standard. She has given the group a great new quality of showmanship, particularly in improvisation.”
Participating students include Shelby Pouliot, Katie Cowley, Lucinda Foster, Sandra Cox, Laurie Jayne Frost, Katie Goulding Sierer, Christy Thomas, Julia Skelton, Luana Pung, John Black, Mark Taggart, Garin Fuhriman, Adam Lancaster, R.J. Christensen, Andrew Early and Logan Molyneaux.
For more information, contact Kelly Eisenhour at 360-6101.
Writer: Rachel M. Sego
