LMC to host Jazz Festival concert with Grammy-recognized artists
October 7, 2024
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Vocal and instrumental soloists and ensembles will share the Â黨ÐÇ¿Õmv Mendel Center Jenkins Theatre stage with jazz artists Kim Nazarian and Jay Ashby duringÌýtheÌýJazz Festival presented by the LMC Visual & Performing Arts DepartmentÌýat 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2. The free public concert is a highlight of the two-day jazz festival conducted byÌýthe Grammy-recognized artistsÌýon the LMC Benton Harbor campus.Ìý
“This is an incredible opportunity for the community to experience jazz performancesÌýfrom these top-notch industry professionalsÌýsurrounded by outstanding collegiate and high school talent from our area.ÌýWe are fortunate to have these artists visit our campus and work with students to expand their skill and understanding of the jazz art form,†said Rebecca Derbas-Selvidge, LMC director of choirs and music lecturer.Ìý
Nazarian is a world-renowned, Grammy-nominated jazz performing and recording artist, educator, and clinician. In addition to her work as a sought-after solo vocalist, she has performed all over the world with the vocal group New York Voices (NYV) for more than 35 years.ÌýShe will conduct two days of vocal soloÌýand ensemble clinics with area high school and collegeÌýstudents. Ìý
Ashby is a four-time Grammy-winning producer who has received multiple nominations in other categories including Arranging and Engineering. For over thirty years, he has performed, toured, and recorded with some of the most renowned jazz artists in the industry. Ashby will share his expertiseÌýwith students through band clinics and Brazilian percussion workshops.Ìý
Area high school music instructors interested in having their students participateÌýin this unique educational and performance experience canÌý. ForÌýquestions and further registration information, contact the LMC Visual & Performing Arts Department atÌýmmccaffrey@lakemichigancollege.eduÌýor 269-927-8876.Ìý
This festival is made possible by a grant from the Monday Musical Club. The Monday Musical Club provides grants to schools and non-profit organizations in Berrien County to support music instruction, programs, performances, or other purposes that engage and educate people of all ages.Ìý Ìý
About the artistsÌý
Kim NazarianÌý
From performing at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, and the Montreal International Jazz Festival to judging international vocal competitions andÌýinstructing the next generation of vocal performers, Kim Nazarian is recognized nationally and globally for her work in the jazz genre. Ìý
Nazarian teachesÌýjazz voice at Ithaca CollegeÌýin Ithaca, New York.ÌýBeyond the classroom, sheÌýshares her perspectives on music and life as a musician while teachingÌýprivate students in her personal studio; offersÌýclinics, workshops, and masterclasses; adjudicatesÌýfestivals; participatesÌýin jazz camps;Ìýand guest conductsÌýfor singers on all levels in the U.S. and abroad.Ìý
One of Nazarian's recent accolades was being namedÌý"Jazz Educator of the Year 2023" by the JEN organization. She is the first female and vocal jazz recipient of this prestigious honor. In 2022, she became the first woman to head the jury of the A Cappella Competition in Aarhus, Denmark. Continuing to climb the professional ladder, Nazarian has added artistic director to her list of titles, working with the established team of the DeMieroÌýJazz Festival.Ìý
Harkening her heritage, Nazarian was recognized as one of the top 50 most influential Armenian artists in 2012 and was inducted into her hometown high school’s Hall of Fame. She is the lead vocalist for the Latin-influenced jazz ensemble El Eco spearheaded by Argentinian drummer and composer Guillermo Nojechowicz, and sheÌýappears as a featured vocalist on Gabriel Espinosa’s two latest CDs. Ìý
Besides the many recordings of NYV, Nazarian can be heard on variousÌýprojects as a soloist. Branching out on her own in 2015, she released her first solo CD,Ìý“Some Morning,“ÌýwithÌýguests Paquito D’Rivera, Gary Burton, John Pizzarelli, and Sean Jones. Ìý
NazarianÌýis proud to be one of the featured voices on Bobby McFerrin’s “VOCAbuLarieS“ CD,Ìýwhich garnered three Grammy nominations. Additionally, she collaborated with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and the Manchester Craftsmen’sÌýGuild on a concert tour dedicated to the late great Ella Fitzgerald. Ìý
Nazarian’s work as a lyricist can be heard on the NYV CDs and in other projects worldwide, including those of Brazilian composer Ivan Lins and the Metropole Orchestra. Most notably, Nazarian wrote “World of Possibilities," the title track to the accompanying CD of Bill Strickland’s best-selling book “Making the Impossible Possible.â€Ìý
Nazarian is a magnaÌýcum laude graduate of Ithaca College and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting. When not making music, she loves to be home in Oberlin, Ohio,Ìýwith her husband, son, and sheep-a-doodle, Doxy, on her 6.5-acre farm, cooking, gardening, reading, and watching films. Ìý
Jay AshbyÌý
Jay Ashby is a four-time GrammyÌýAward-winning producer and has received multiple nominations in other categories, including Arranging and Engineering. A “consummate musician†whose talents “know few bounds†(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review), Ashby has performed, toured, and recorded with some of the most renowned jazz artists in the industry for over 30 years. Ìý
As a member of the United Nation Orchestra, under the direction of Paquito D’Rivera, and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Big Band, Ashby forged long-lasting musical relationships with jazz greats,Ìýincluding Jon Faddis, Monty Alexander, James Moody, Jimmy Heath, Randy Brecker, and Slide Hampton, among many others. Ìý
Through his association with trumpet master Claudio Roditi, Ashby developed a strong affinity for Brazilian Jazz. ThisÌýled to many years as a soloist with Astrud Gilberto, as well as arrangements, tours, performances,Ìýand recordings with numerousÌýBrazilian artists,Ìýincluding Tania Maria, Kenia, Ivan Lins, Trio Da Paz, and the fathers of Bossa Nova Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim.Ìý Ìý
Ashby can be heard as both a trombonist and a percussionist on over 175 recordings covering a continuum of styles from jazz and pop to world music. Ashby’s latestÌýrelease, “Mistaken Identityâ€Ìý(CD Baby 2011), with fellow trombonist Steve Davis, received critical acclaim within the jazz industry, remainingÌýon the national air-play list for an unprecedented 16 weeks, reaching as high as #2.Ìý Ìý
As an arranger, among numerousÌýothers, notable recordings include “Live in Parisâ€Ìýwith Paul Simon, “Beyond Brooklynâ€Ìýwith Herbie Mann and Phil Woods, “A Day Like Thisâ€Ìýwith New York Voices, and both of Nancy Wilson’s Grammy-winning albums, “Turned to Blueâ€Ìýand “R.S.V.P.â€Ìý Ìý
His versatility as a pop trombonist, percussionist, and arranger began in 1999 with the pop icon Paul Simon, with whom Ashby toured and performed extensively on stage and television. Appearances with Simon include the “Today Show,†“Saturday Night Live,†“The Late Show with David Letterman,â€Ìýin addition to performing alongside James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, and a host of other artists honoring Paul Simon at the “2007 Gershwin Award Show.â€ÌýMost recently, Ashby participatedÌýin the star-studded HBO broadcast of the “25th Anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden.’Ìý Ìý
As a YAMAHA artist, Ashby conducts master classes, residencies, and clinics worldwide, including annual events in Germany, Brazil, and Russia. He holds degrees from Ithaca College and Duquesne UniversityÌýandÌýhas been on the faculty at Oberlin Conservatory,Ìýwhere he is currently the Director of Jazz Studies, for the past decade.Ìý
About the Â黨ÐÇ¿Õmv Visual & Performing Arts Department Ìý
The Visual & Performing Arts Department allows students to reach new levels of excellence through classroom instruction and public performance. Many programs, including theatre, instrumental and vocal music, and dance, are based in the Â黨ÐÇ¿Õmv Mendel Center, the only performing arts center of its kind in Southwest Michigan. Here, LMC students have opportunities to study the performing arts in a venue that attracts thousands of patrons annually. Programs including drawing, painting, and graphic design allow students to explore the possibilities in the visual arts.Ìý
Auditions are held forÌýselect ensembles that perform on the same stagesÌýas world-renowned touring acts.ÌýStudents in any major also have opportunities to audition for Broadway musicals and plays and join two different vocal ensembles, string and wind ensembles, a pop-rock ensemble, and jazz band. One of only two colleges in Michigan to carry the prestigious All-Steinway designation, LMC has a team of highly qualified faculty that bring real-world expertiseÌýto the classroom. Ìý
LMC Jazz Festival
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Jennifer Shoemaker
Executive Director, Marketing and Communications
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