The Friends University Jazz Vocal Ensemble will perform Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. premiering a new vocal arrangement of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band piece, “Hit the Ground Running.” Director and composer/arranger Craig Curry added original lyrics to the big band piece and arranged it for voices. “I arranged it last year over the summer, but it’s turned out to be a timely piece for us, since Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band won the Grammy this year for “Best Large Ensemble,” Curry said, adding, “It’s a lot of fun and grooves like nobody’s business.”
The Friends University Jazz Vocal Ensemble (JVE) has wasted no time in developing a reputation as a top performing collegiate vocal jazz ensemble. Now in its sixth year, the group has made appearances each of the past four years at a state, regional or international music conference. This year they performed to a packed audience at the Kansas Music Educators Association. Last year, they opened for the popular group Pentatonix at a choral conference in Little Rock, AR. And in 2013, they performed at the international Jazz Education Network conference in Atlanta, the first group from Friends University ever invited to do so.
In addition to the premiere, the group will display their signature tight harmonies in everything from lush ballads to energetic sambas to a surprising swing version of the classic, “Surrey with the Fringe on Top.” The concert includes arrangements by popular vocal groups such as Pentatonix, Take 6, Singers Unlimited, Groove for Thought and Afro Blue.
The performance will be held in Sebits Auditorium on Friends University Campus at 2100 W. University Ave., Wichita, Kan., and is $9 for adults and $6 for seniors and students.
For more information on this event or other Fine Arts events, please contact the Fine Arts Box Office at 316-295-5677 or finearts@friends.edu.
Friends University offers high-quality undergraduate and graduate academic programs for traditional students and working adults. Rooted both in the liberal arts tradition and the Christian intellectual tradition, students learn inside and outside the classroom. Friends University is a regional university with national programs and an international presence.