JAZZ ENSEMBLE
Elon's Jazz Ensemble concentrates on the key stylistic ingredients of "America's Classical Music," swing and improvisation. Each member of the ensemble is featured when the band performs its versions of standards, jazz classics, and student arrangements. During the Winter Term, the Jazz Ensemble embarks on a simulated professional tour, offering the invaluable opportunity to experience life as a working musician. The ensemble is directed by veteran jazz musician, Jon Metzger. Open by audition only.
CONTACT
Jon Metzger
(336)-278-5683 | jmetzger@elon.edu
Jazz Ensemble
2800 Campus Box
Elon, NC 27244
AUDITIONS
Big Band Auditions: Held every August. Watch bulletin board for date, requirements, and audition materials.
Jazz Combo Auditions: Held every August. Perform a prepared piece with improvisation such as Autumn Leaves or Blue Bossa or a 12-bar blues.
Piano:
1) "A" and "B" rootless formula voicings for ii-V-I and iiø-V-i in all keys.
2) Left-hand guide tone voicings with right-hand improvisation on 12-bar blues.
Bass:
1) 12-bar blues with walking bass lines.
Drums:
1) Swing
2) Broken Swing
3) Brushes: Swing
4) Bossa Nova
5) Samba
6) Afro-Cuban
JAZZ STUDIES ALUMNI: Where are they now?
Andrew Hendryx: Author, recording artist, freelance jazz mandolin player, New York City. (www.myspace.com/andrewhendryx)
Kevin Pace: Jazz bassist, recording artist, educator, performances with David "Fathead" Newman, DC Metro area. (www.kevinpace.com)
Brad Linde: Jazz saxophonist, educator, co-ordinator Take Five performing arts series (includes jazz) at the University of Maryland. (www.bradlinde.com)
Michael Capps: Director of Bands at A.L. Standback Middle School, Hillsborough, NC where he received the teacher of the year award and started a jazz program. Ensemble performances at MENC Conferences.
Mary Brozina: Music Director, Lakes Region Summer Theater (summers, Meredith NH), Music Director Naples Dinner Theater (Naples, FL), Accompanist, Oklahoma City University, Music Director Lyric Theater and City Rep Theater (Oklahoma City), and Music Director University of Central Oklahoma Jazz Lab. Performances for Governor of Oklahoma.
TJ Jackson: Saxophone instructor, US Army School of Music, Norfolk, VA.
Mac Campbell: Operations Manager for The Music Center at Strathmore Hall (MD) where he organizes and schedules jazz concerts and helps promote jazz events like the East Coast Jazz Festival.
Cecelia Thompson: Special Projects Co-ordinator for the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro (NC) where she promotes jazz performances.
Kristen Robeson: Choir Director, Henry E. Lackey High School in Charles County, MD.
Megan Kelley: Band Director at Turrentine Middle School, Burlington, NC where she founded a new jazz program.
Jon Rahilly: Completed masters at University of Oklahoma. DMA in progress at UNC-Greensboro.
2010 JAZZ FESTIVAL
Download:
• Festival Invitation
• Registration Form / Festival Schedule
DIRECTOR
"A Star Vibist," as he has been trumpeted by Jazztimes, Jon Metzger has developed an international presence through extensive touring, recording, and lecturing. A winner of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant for Performance, he has appeared at well-known jazz venues across the United States and has led his quartet on tours of Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium, and Austria. He has played for kings and queens and other heads of state while serving as a jazz ambassador to more than 20 foreign countries in the Near East, Northern and Sub-Sahara Africa, and Central America under the auspices of the United States Information Agency's Arts America Program. He has also performed at the Spoleto Festival, both in Spoleto, Italy and Charleston, South Carolina; appeared at the East Coast Jazz Festival in Washington, DC; dueled vibes with Lionel Hampton at the Jazzfest Festival in Kingston, Jamaica; performed with Gunther Schuller as part of the American Composers Series at Strathmore Hall Arts Center (Maryland); and been featured in the Martin Williams Jazz Concert Series at the Kennedy Center.
His seven recordings as a leader have received widespread airplay and critical acclaim. The Washington Post called his release Into the Light" music that simultaneously appeals to the head, heart, and feet," while Jazztimes added "Metzger's musicianship shines," and Cadence concluded "Metzger is a flawless vibraphonist." On these releases Metzger was joined by Fred Hersch, Phil Markowitz, Marc Johnson, Harvie Swartz, Joey Baron, Jack Wilkins, and Allison Miller, among others. He has appeared on dozens of other recordings including six CDs with vocalist Ronnie Wells and pianist Ron Elliston (one was a Cadence top ten jazz release choice), Iris Benjamin's Passing By, and the NC Jazz Repertory Orchestra's Benny Goodman Swing Collection. He was also the first artist profiled on the Southern Arts Federation's landmark Jazz South radio program and is now the only artist selected more than once.
Metzger has conducted masterclasses from Boston's Berklee College and the University of North Texas to the University of North Florida and CAL Arts and has lectured at the Smithsonian Institution. He has also given many clinics at the Percussive Arts Society's International Convention and the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference. He has been endorsed for 18 years by the vibraphone manufacturer Musser which offers subsidies for his clinic appearances. He is now also endorsed by Pro Mark and has a signature mallet in their line. His numerous articles have appeared in Percussive Notes, Jazz Player Magazine, and Sticks & Mallets Magazine. His many works for percussion are published by C. Alan Publications, and his 366-page method book, The Art and Language of Jazz Vibes (EPM), is considered the standard in the industry. Now the Artist in Residence and Associate Professor of Music at Elon University, where he was presented with the coveted Distinguished Scholar Award, he also currently serves as the Associate Editor of the International Association of Jazz Educators' Journal and is a Resource Team Member for the journal. Recent honors include the North Carolina Jazz Service Award from the Miles Davis Jazz Studies program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Metzger, 48, holds both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Originally from the Washington, DC area, he lives with his wife, Linda, and their basset hound in North Carolina.
