Northwestern's Jazz Band and Heritage Singers to perform

Northwestern College’s Jazz Band and Heritage Singers will perform a concert on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Christ Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.

The Jazz Band, directed by Dr. Timothy McGarvey, professor of music, will perform a variety of jazz styles, including swing, blues, samba, ballad and calypso. The ensemble will play well-known jazz pieces such as Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo à la Turk” and “Tuxedo Junction” by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson and Julian Dash. They will also perform jazz arrangements of George Gershwin’s “Cuban Overture” and “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise” by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II.

Over half of the 18 members in Jazz Band will play solos during the concert.

The Heritage Singers, directed by Dr. Thomas Holm, professor of music, will perform “Zigeunerlieder (Gypsy Songs), op. 103,” by Johannes Brahms, a set of eleven songs that Holm says tell the stories of “love, broken hearts, rejection, longing, and yes, love!” The chamber choir will also perform two sets of “Animal Crackers” by Eric Whitacre, short settings of six humorous poems about animals and insects by the American poet Ogden Nash. The ensemble will be accompanied by music major Yukiko Higishino and Dr. Juyeon Kang, associate professor of music.

The 28 members in Heritage Singers were chosen by audition from the A cappella Choir.

McGarvey, a member of Northwestern’s music faculty since 1989, earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in wind conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He also received a Master of Music degree in instrumental conducting at Western Michigan University and a bachelor’s degree in music education at Taylor University.

Holm, who joined the music faculty in 2000, earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting at the University of Illinois and completed Master of Music degrees at the University of Alberta and the University of Idaho. He received a bachelor’s degree from Big Sky Bible College.