Contact: Bob Adams (425) 564-3081
badams@bcc.ctc.edu
Two BCC musical groups selected to perform at world's largest jazz gathering
BELLEVUE, WASH.- In an unusual honor, the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) has selected two jazz groups from Bellevue Community College - a band and a vocal ensemble - to perform at the Association's annual conference in New York next week.
Thousands of bands and vocal groups vie each year for the opportunity to perform at this major conference, which is the largest annual gathering of the global jazz community.
BCC's vocal jazz ensemble, Celebration!, is one of only four college vocal groups invited to appear, and BCC's Monday Night Jazz Band is one of only nine college jazz bands invited. Other colleges selected to perform include some of the nation's leading jazz schools, such as Juilliard School of Music, Berklee College of Music, New York University and University of North Texas.
BCC is the only school with both a choir and a band on the conference performance schedule.
More than 7,000 educators, musicians, industry executives, exhibitors, media and students from 35 countries are expected to attend the conference, including some of the world's top professional and amateur jazz artists. The conference runs from Jan. 11 - 14, with the Monday Night Jazz Band performing on Friday, Jan. 13, and Celebration! performing on Saturday, Jan. 14.
Celebration!, made up of 22 BCC students (18 vocalists and four instrumentalists), is directed by Tom Almli. The Monday Night Jazz Band, comprising 16 adult musicians from the community, under the direction of Hal Sherman, is part of BCC's Continuing Education program.
The Monday Night Jazz Band can be heard in performance locally on Tuesday, Jan. 10, from 8:00 p.m. to midnight at Tula's Restaurant and Night Club, 2214 Second Avenue, in downtown Seattle.
Serving more than 35,000 students per year, Bellevue Community College is the third largest institution of higher learning in Washington state. BCC offers associate degrees and certificates in the traditional arts, humanities and sciences, as well as information technology, telecommunications, business, health sciences, social sciences, educational development and numerous other professional and technical fields.
Bellevue Community College's Continuing Education division is the largest such "life-long learning" program among Washington state's 34 community and technical colleges. The division offers computing and technology programs; work-related and real estate programs; Art-Zones; Explore (personal enrichment programs); travel and world languages; contract training for businesses; and BCC's Small Business Development Center.