Harper College Music Program: Faculty Point of View

Harper College's Music Department

The Department of Music at Harper College is committed to creating an inclusive educational experience that fosters creativity, expression, and a supportive musical community for students of diverse cultures, backgrounds and interests. We maintain a proud level of academic excellence, and our goal is to build both academic and creative career paths for our students with opportunities to find representation and identity in their musical studies. Our students can expect an educational experience which fuses vital ideas and modern technologies with the traditional study of musical creation, performance and history across various genres and cultures. We care greatly about our surrounding community and have created a place for members to craft their musical interests into fruitful careers, personal enrichment, and stronger engagement with music.

The Jazz Ensemble is Harper's premiere jazz group under the direction of Chicago based jazz trombonist, educator, arranger, and composer Kirby Fellis. The ensemble employs a traditional big band instrumentation consisting of 4–5 trumpets, 4–5 trombones, five saxophones (two altos, two tenors and one baritone), as well as a rhythm section that includes vocals, guitar, piano, bass and drums. Saxophonists are often required to double on other woodwind instruments including soprano sax, flute, clarinet and bass clarinet. Trumpet players are often required to double on flugelhorn.

Open to all Harper students (regardless of major), faculty, staff and community members, the band performs a wide range of jazz music including classic and historical works from composers and arrangers such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton and Thad Jones to more contemporary works from writers like Bill Holman, John Fedchock and John Clayton.

Each semester, the band performs a concert in the Performing Arts Center, often with a featured guest artist. Jazz Ensemble frequently features guest artists from the Chicago area and also performs off campus, such as their recent appearance at Chicago's famed Jazz Showcase, with Selmer recording artist Mark Colby. The group also performs at Harper's Annual Jazz Invitational held in January.

Learn more: https://www.harpercollege.edu/academi...