April 15, 2009 – The Pfeiffer University Jazz Ensemble will present its annual spring concert at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28 on the front lawn adjacent to the Administration Building on the Misenheimer campus. In case of rain, the concert will be held in the Campus Theatre on the third floor of the Administration Building. The concert is free and open to the public.

A highlight this year will be an opening performance featuring several area high school jazz ensembles selected to perform with Pfeiffer and the guest artists. Some of those schools include East Davidson High School, Thomasville, N.C.; Concord High School, Concord, N.C.; and East Forsyth High School, Kernersville, N.C. The high school musicians will perform at 7:15 p.m.

The University Jazz Ensemble, under the leadership of Pfeiffer’s Director of Instrumental Music Ed Kiefer, will perform a number of popular classics in fresh arrangements. Guest artists will include Jon Metzger, an internationally acclaimed jazz vibraphonist, artist-in-residence and associate professor of music at Elon University; and Jerald Shynett, a well-respected jazz trombonist and assistant professor of music at UNC Wilmington, who regularly performs with Chick Corea.

The ensemble will present a varied program featuring the guest artists and several talented student soloists. The band will perform "Just Friends" by John Klenner - featuring Pfeiffer student vocalist Gabrielle Riggs, of Thomasville, N.C.; the Bryan Kidd arrangement of "Nutville" by composer Horace Silver, the rendition of Bill Potts' "Big Swing Face," as played by the Buddy Rich Big Band, and Alan Baylock's "Two Seconds to Midnight." The ensemble will also feature Neal Hefti's "Splanky," "Spain" by Chick Corea, and Marcus Miller's "Maputo," made famous by legendary saxophonist David Sanborn.

The Pfeiffer University Jazz Ensemble, under Kiefer’s direction, enjoys an increasing reputation for excellence throughout the state. Musicians from the ensemble have for the past three summers performed in New Orleans and conducted service projects to assist survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Last year, the University Jazz Ensemble received praise from fellow clinicians – and the public – during the Wilmington Jazz Festival.

Established in 1885, Pfeiffer University is a comprehensive United Methodist-related university, with multiple campuses, including Misenheimer, Charlotte and the Triangle, committed to educational excellence, service and scholarship. Visit Pfeiffer online at www.pfeiffer.edu.