Dizzy Fingers indeed

On Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012, the Brock University Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band will be playing for students and community members alike in “Dizzy Fingers: an evening of musical fireworks from Shostakovich to Hindemith”.

Both ensembles, conducted by veteran Brock Music Department staffer Zoltan Kalman, are made up of Brock students (of both music majors and otherwise) and community members.

“The Wind Ensemble enjoys a rich tradition of providing positive, life-enhancing experiences for young people through creative expression,” said Kalman. “The musicians are drawn from the Brock community, local high schools and Niagara’s classical community including seasoned professionals from the Niagara Symphony and Hamilton’s Symphony-on-the-Bay.”

While the Wind Ensemble has been putting on exciting shows for years, this is the first ever concert to include a Brock Jazz ensemble — the Brockbusters — which is a big step for the Brock musical community.

Brockbusters is made up of 20 members, forming a standard stage band setting, while the wind ensemble is made up of 60 Brock students and community members.

While most other Universities with notable music programs include some element of jazz in their courses and programming, this will constitute Brock’s first taste of the style. Furthermore, Brockbusters are only a club, so while it is a good first step towards more diverse programming, the genre has yet to become incorporated into the music students’ curriculum.

Kalman, who is also the artistic advisor for the new band, finds this to be a good step forward in diversifying the repertoire present at Brock.

“I strongly believe a jazz band should be an integral part of a balanced University music program and it’s my hope that students will be able to take it for credit in the near future.This is something that had been long overdue and never been done before at Brock.“
The mission of the Jazz Band is to provide a venue to jazz lovers in the Brock community for inspiring musicians to enhance and refine their musical skills and to foster appreciation for the style of jazz.

Noted works in the repertoire include famed Russian composer Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture”, music from The Polar Express and popular band and wind ensemble composer Philip Sparke’s “The Year of the Dragon”.

“The upcoming Wind Ensemble performance will demonstrate the versatility and virtuosity of the group, and will surely leave the audience breathless. The programme will highlight brilliant classical works and a truly refreshing walk on the easy listening POPS side,” said Kalman. “I hope that students will come out in masses to the concert as they would get to see both, the Wind Ensemble and the debut performance by Brock University’s first Jazz Band, the ‘Brockbusters’ perform for a price of one.”

The show takes place on Nov. 27, starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Sean O Sullivan theatre and costs $5 for general admission.