Jazz LIVE at Marine View kicks off its fourth year featuring its first big band at the popular monthly concert series – Rich Wetzel and his Groovin’ Higher Jazz Orchestra. A Tacoma musician, Wetzel combines his own high-energy trumpet riffs with a 15-piece big band influenced by Maynard Ferguson.
5 p.m. March 11. Free, all ages. Marine View Church, 8469 Eastside Dr. NE, Tacoma. 253-229-9206, www.marineviewpc.org
South Kitsap High School has won the fifth annual Schools of The Rock Battle of the Bands competition, sponsored by The Rock Wood Fired Pizza restaurant. The school’s music program won the $10,000 prize in the competition that pitted 28 high school marching bands from across Washington and the Portland, Ore. area against each other with online video recordings of rock hits.
The 10 schools with the most text votes were judged by a panel of celebrity judges, including Andy McKeag from The Presidents of the United States of America; Brad McDavid, band leader at the University of Washington; …
The Tacoma Concert Band definitely had something worth celebrating last Saturday night at its 30th Anniversary Spectacular concert in the Pantages Theater – great playing, innovative programming and a whole lot of commitment.
Putting together a varied program that pulled from the band’s 30 years of going way beyond the Sousa box was founding director Robert Musser, careful and competent with the baton. After a Sousa march (the very first piece the band ever played) came a string of vibrant favorites, played with flair: the March from Hindemith’s “Symphonic Metamorphoses,” with its ominous-turned-triumphant theme just slightly messy, but offset …
Summer and Sousa make an excellent combination, and nobody does it better than the Tacoma Concert Band. This 60-piece band is celebrating its 30th anniversary this season, and opens with “Fantasia!” on October 9 at the Pantages, complete with a world premiere composition for harp and band. The season continues with Sousa, Mexican music and a reappearance by trumpet virtuoso Alan Vizutti.
But this week you can hear them for free in the great outdoors, in their annual Summer Concerts in the Parks series. Each concert has a “pops”-style program of best-of-bands, and is a fun thing for families. …
Tacoma Concert Band are going all out for their final performance for the season this Saturday night at the Pantages. The program is billed as East-meets-West: an American band playing both American and Asian pieces, and featuring young Korean concert pianist Eun Joo Chung.
Chung has made quite a career for herself since her Carnegie Hall debut in 2004, giving recitals in Berlin and Vienna and opening Seattle’s Town Hall Virtuoso Piano Series. She’s won international competitions like the Viotti, Schubert and World
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Want an excuse to enjoy these balmy summer evenings? (Hah!) The Museum of Glass is hosting the 10th annual Jazz Under the Stars Gala from 7-9 p.m. tomorrow night. An annual free series organized by Pacific Lutheran University, the event features hot club jazz maestros Pearl Django (left) and singer Greta Matassa doing their thing on the museum’s mezzanine plaza (up one level from the waterfront.)
It’s a good chance, if you haven’t seen it yet, to check out MoG’s new installation,