The West Virginia Wesleyan College Jazz Ensemble will embark on its 34th annual spring tour starting Friday, March 5.

The six-day tour will consist of five concerts in West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware. The tour will begin at Paw Paw High School (WV) with a 1 p.m. performance and will advance on Saturday, March 6 to the Westminster United Methodist Church (MD) for a public concert at 7:30 p.m. The jazz band will stay in Westminster Sunday, and assist in church services at 8:30 a.m. and at 10 a.m. before moving on Monday, March 8 to Woodbury High School (NJ) for an assembly concert at a time to be announced. The jazz band will continue the tour on March 9 at Hendrick Hudson High School (NY) and will conclude the trip with a performance on March 10 at Newark High School (DE) at 1:15 p.m.

"Every year, we go on a tour," remarked Dr. David Milburn, director and founder of the Ensemble and a professor of music at Wesleyan. "For the students, it gives them an understanding and sense of how professional jazz players would live. They play every day and are always on the road. It gives these students an 'apprenticeship.' By the time we finish the tour, the band is playing a lot better. At times, I feel guilty about our first show, because by the time we get to the last one, we are so much better that I wish we could go back and play for those people at the first concert again."

The tour also provides a foundation for a strong bond to be formed among the members of the jazz band. "A great deal of brotherhood/sisterhood is really formed during the tour," reiterated Milburn. "The students become very close with one another, they stick together, and really look out for one another. It really becomes a mini-music fraternity. When a person performs a solo for the first time, the rest of the group will give him/her encouragement and a pat on the back. And I think that camaraderie shows during the performances and to the audience."

Making up the jazz ensemble are, on the saxophones: Norio Omori, lead alto; Rick Hogg, Sarah Helman, Chris Way, and Joshua George; on the trumpets: Brian Cavanagh, Kim Marinich, Adam Loudin, Joshua Kelly, Stacey Cover, and Jason Whanger; on the trombones: Andrew Duncan, Steve McGrew, Ann Nakai, and Taya Radabaugh; on the rhythm: Darin Shriver, Kosuke Misumi, Sean Coughlin, Matt Hull, Desiree Langford and George Costa; and sound technician James Booker.

"This year's ensemble is really a nice mixture of juniors, seniors and underclassmen," remarked Dr. Milburn. "The seniors are always going to be the leaders of the group. Brian Canavagh is in his last year as the lead trumpet player and is a very strong player. Norio Omori plays the alto sax and has been a tremendous leader, and he gets better every time he plays. I am not sure I have had a stronger lead alto saxophone player than Norio. Rick Hogg, a transfer from Ohio State, is on second alto and has turned into a very fine soloist, and perhaps the best drummer I have ever had, Darin Shriver, is going to leave a big void when he graduates. Steve McGrew can do things on the trombone that makes me just shake my head."

The band's repertoire consists of a variety of tunes from the traditional Big Band Era, as well as many interesting contemporary compositions. They will be playing Stan Kenton selections, a ballad entitled "Send in the Clowns," and a tune by Tower Power, called "What is Hip" along with some swing selections. "Overall, it is a nice mixture of selections, which is something I try do with each tour," stated Dr. Milburn. "I want to do some nice slow tunes, some rock tunes that the high school audiences would appreciate and some tunes that the older folks might recognize. So it is a mix of fast and slow, Rock, Latin, and Swing. It has proven to be a good recipe for audiences, but it also very important for the students learning. When they leave Wesleyan, they are acclimated to read and play all these different styles of music."

Following the tour, the Ensemble will present its home concert in Wesley Chapel on Friday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m.

The West Virginia Wesleyan College Jazz Ensemble was formed in 1970. The Band consists of full saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and horn sections, as well as a rhythm section that includes piano, drum set, guitar and bass. The members represent a variety of academic interests including education, science, and music, and are all members of Wesleyan's 70-piece Concert Band.

For more information about Wesleyan's Jazz Ensemble, please contact Dr. Milburn at milburn@wvwc.edu.