(Posted April 4, 2011)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Syncopation on everything from drums, to marimbas to PVC pipes will be featured in a concert combining Juniata College's Percussion Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble at 6:45 p.m., Friday, April 15, in Rosenberger Auditorium in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts.

NOTE THE CHANGE IN PERFORMING TIME ABOVE.

The concert is free and open to the public. The Percussion Ensemble is directed by James Latten, associate professor of music.

The concert will open on a lighter percussive note (or heavier, depending on your perspective) with two compositions played on the college's PVC pipe instruments. Steely Pan and the PVC's, as the group is called, will perform "Conga," originally arranged for a steel drum band by Brad Shores. The group will follow up with "La Bamba," the classic 1958 Ritchie Valens Latin-rock hit.

The Percussion Ensemble will open its program with "Antiphon," by Michael Combs. Next, the group will perform "Percussion Suite of Brazilian Folk Songs," arranged by Russell Hartenberger, and "Songs in the Forest," by Lou Harrison, an American composer noted for including elements of non-Western music in his works.

The ensemble will perform "Nice 'n' Easy," a composition by Murray Houllif that combines elements of jazz, funk, classical and rock music. The next selection, "Thunder on the Bay," was written by Scott Harding at the request of a colleague who was teaching a 7th-grade music class.

The percussion group will end its program performing "Galloping Comedians," by Dimitri Kabalevsky, and "Mesozoic Fantasy" which plays with the contrast between pitched and non-pitched instruments.

Juniata's Jazz Ensemble, which is directed by Dan Yoder, lecturer in music at Juniata, will open its program with "The Chicken," written by the late jazz bassist Jaco Pastorious, best known for his work in Weather Report and as a solo artist.

Other selections scheduled for the concert are "Engine No. 9," by big band composer Les Hooper, and "Here's That Rainy Day," a Broadway show tune, written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, that is particularly favored by jazz instrumentalists.

Another selection is "Moten Swing," composed by Bennie Moten, an influential early jazz bandleader. This tune was popularized by the Count Basie Band and has been recorded by hundreds of jazz artists. The concert will wind down with "Steppin' Round," and "Sugar," a tune written by Stanley Turrentine, a Pittsburgh native noted for his warm saxophone sound.

Members of the Juniata Percussion Ensemble are as follows: Ashley Bauer, a senior from Slatington, Pa.; Jon Bogue, a sophomore from East Berlin, Pa.; Maggie Burkett, a freshman from Granville, Ohio; Jason Cox, a sophomore from Bethlehem, Pa.; Amanda Durofchalk, a sophomore from Wernersville, Pa.; Stephen Estright, a freshman from Hollidaysburg, Pa.; Frank Huhn, a community member from Huntingdon, Pa.; Nicole Kiss, a freshman from Huntingdon, Pa.; Aric Koestler, a freshman from Palmyra, Pa.; Sergio Lopez, a senior from Edison, N.J.; John Lugg, a sophomore from Lock Haven, Pa.; Tyler NeuCollins, a junior from Solon, Iowa; Katya Rebman, a freshman from Elizabethtown, Pa.; Amanda Schlosberg, a junior from Baldwin, N.Y.; Alex Sickler, a freshman from Edwardsville, Pa.; Jacqueline Swain, a freshman from Hampstead, Md.; and Jessica Toot, a sophomore from New Oxford, Pa.

The members of the Jazz Ensemple are as follows:

Alto Saxophone: Colin Brislawn, a sophomore from Tumwater, Wash.; Dominic Doganiero, a freshman from Wellsboro, Pa.; Briana Maddalena, a sophomore from Buffalo Mills, Pa.; and Kate Riotte, a freshman from Durham, Conn.

Tenor Saxophone: Brennan Cornelius, a junior from Huntingdon, Pa., and Kelli Yingling, a junior from Three Springs, Pa.

Trumpet: Katie Downey, a sophomore from Warren, Pa.; Nate Fischer, a freshman, from Ringwood, N.J.; Alex Sickler, a freshman from Edwardsville, Pa.; and Doug Wennick, a community member from Huntingdon.

Trombone: Maggie Burkett, a freshman from Granville, Ohio, and Paul Leevan, a freshman from Harrisburg, Pa.

Drums: Jason Cox, a sophomore from Bethlehem, Pa., and John Lugg, a sophomore, from Lock Haven, Pa.

Bass: Aric Koestler, a sophomore from Palmyra, Pa.

Guitar: Sam Hulse, a junior from Baltimore, Md., and Rich Schur, a freshman from Huntingdon, Pa.

Piano: Ben Tansi, a freshman from Wrentham, Mass.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.