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Three St. Olaf College jazz concerts will be part of inauguration festivities

mjc
April 19, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? Three St. Olaf College jazz bands and the Percussion Ensemble will perform their annual spring concerts Thursday, April 26, Friday, April 27, and Sunday, April 29, as part of the inauguration of new St. Olaf President Christopher Meredith Thomforde.

All three concerts are free and open to the public.

The Percussion Ensemble will perform Thursday, April 26, at 8:15 p.m. in Urness Recital Hall, Christiansen Hall of Music. The concert will feature two guest conductors, St. Olaf seniors James Miller and Jayce Ogren, and will include music by Vic Firth, Dan Welcher and an arrangement by David Hagedorn.

The Jazz I concert will be at 8 p.m. Friday, April 27, in the Pause of Buntrock Commons. Jazz Band I will perform music of Dizzy Gillespie, John Clayton Jr., Fred Sturm and others. Professional trombonist Dave Graf will be a guest performer.

The Jazz II and III concert will be at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, April 29, also in the Pause. Jazz Band II will perform music by Miles Davis, Irving Berlin and Bob Mintzer, and Jazz Band III will play music by Thelonious Monk, Bill Holman and Gerry Mulligan. Graf will join both groups as featured trombonist.

The three ensembles are conducted by St. Olaf College music faculty member David Hagedorn, who has recorded with the George Russell Living Time Orchestra, with jazz singer Debbie Duncan and with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Hagedorn regularly performs with the jazz groups Pure Joy and Low Blows, and in the percussion duo SCHAG.

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Guest musician Graf is one of the most versatile trombonists in the Twin Cities, performing in a wide variety of musical settings, including jazz, Dixieland, big band and shows, salsa and Brazilian music, and recordings. For 11 years Graf performed with the late trumpeter Red Wolfe, playing in two of Wolfe?s groups, the Port of Dixie Jazz Band and Ellington Echoes. He has performed locally with the late Jack McDuff and trombonist Slide Hampton, and is a regular member the JazzMN Big Band.

As a performer in Twin Cities show orchestras, Graf has backed many entertainment legends, including Natalie Cole, Harry Connick Jr., Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Julie Andrews, Rosemary Clooney and others.

The concerts are among many events that are part of the Christopher Thomforde inauguration. Two other concerts, two worship services, two performances of a Roman comedy, an art exhibit, a dance festival/concert, a new historical exhibit and a gala fireworks display also will be part of the inaugural celebration Thursday through Sunday, April 26-29.

The official inauguration will take place at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 29, in Skoglund Center Auditorium with Librarian of Congress James Billington, a personal friend of Thomforde?s, delivering the main address. Inauguration Day also will include a tree-planting ceremony, a worship service, a reception and an orchestra concert.

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty complement of approximately 300. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.