Jazz ensemble to perform in Ed Landreth
Performance an alternative option for Valentine’s Day

By Kelly Marino
Staff Reporter

With Valentine’s Day a day away, students, faculty, family and couples can opt to spend an evening attending the TCU Big Band jazz ensemble, directed by Curt Wilson.

Guest vocalist Drenda Barnett will perform the works of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Les Elgart, Les Brown and Benny Goodman at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Ed Landreth Hall Auditorium.

Toni Parker, administrative assistant for the TCU band, said the audience will be encouraged to embrace the music.

“People are allowed to dance in the aisles and it makes the performance more interactive with the audience and the musicians,” Parker said. “This event allows people to spend their Valentine’s Day together a little bit differently then they usually would.”

Jons Grille, Michael’s Restaurant, TCU Florist and the TCU Bookstore have donated a variety of prizes to be given out during the concert.

Wilson, professor of music and director of jazz studies, said there will be about six or seven prizes given out, including gift certificates for free dinners.

Although this is the first time gifts will be given away during the show, this is the second year the Big Band jazz ensemble will perform on Valentine’s Day. Last year, about 800 hundred people attended the Big Band jazz ensemble on Valentine’s Day.

Howard Payne, retired assistant director at the Rickel Building, was one of 800 people who attended last year. He said he enjoyed every minute of last year’s performance and is looking forward to it again this year.“The concert gave me a nostalgic feeling that brought back memories of old times when my wife and I first met,” Payne said. “It was a large crowd last year, and I think a lot of people will be there this year.”

Wilson said he counts on people like Payne supporting the event so the jazz ensemble can perform in festivals over the summer.

“This year the band has been invited to the Hawaii International Jazz Festival,” Wilson said. “Since last year’s performance was such a success, we decided to have the show again as a fund-raiser and put the money toward the trip to Honolulu.”

Wilson said the jazz ensemble used the proceeds from last year’s event to attend the Montreaux, Switzerland Jazz Festival and the Vienna, Austria Jazz Festival last summer.

Kelly Marino
k.a.marino@student.tcu.edu