percussionists

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Percussionists Terri Lyne Carrington, Peter Erskine Headline 34th Jazz Celebration Weekend

A pair of Grammy Award-winning drummers will share the headliners’ spotlight Nov. 7-8 for Lawrence University’s 34th annual Jazz Celebration Weekend.

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Terri Lyne Carrington and her band, along with singer Lizz Wright, opens Jazz Celebration Weekend Friday, Nov. 7.

Terri Lyne Carrington kicks off the weekend Friday night with a performance alongside her eight-piece band and vocalist Lizz Wright. Peter Erskine closes the weekend Saturday evening in a performance with the Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble and the Lawrence Jazz Faculty. Both concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Tickets, at $30-25 for adults, $25-20 for seniors and $20-18 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

Saturday night’s concert with Erskine is the first of four upcoming “Music for Food concerts designated for the benefit of the Fox Valley’s St. Joseph Food Pantry. Audience members attending are encouraged to make a charitable donation — monetary or a nonperishable food item — to help combat hunger in the Fox Cities. All monetary donations are tax deductible, with 100 percent of the proceeds going directly to St. Joseph Food Pantry.

“We are so fortunate to have two of the most successful and creative drummers on the planet performing at this year’s Jazz Celebration Weekend,” said percussion maestro and Lawrence Professor of Music Dane Richeson. “Both have had a profound influence on my own playing, beginning in the mid 1970’s when I heard a young Peter Erskine with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band.

“And I was awestruck when I first saw Ms. Carrington — as a teenager — sit in with a group at an outdoor festival in New York City that I was performing at in the early 80’s,” Richeson added. “These are two of the most dynamic drummers you will ever hear.”

Carrington — composer, producer, clinician. media entrepreneur as well as drummer —initially captured attention on a pair of television shows, first as the house drummer for the “Arsenio Hall Show” in the 1980s and later for the late-night program “Vibe” in the late 1990s.

Over the course of her career, Carrington has recorded with a Who’s Who of jazz luminaries, including Herbie Hancock, Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter.

Her 2011 ensemble CD The Mosaic Project” won a Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy Award. A socially-conscious musical celebration of female artists, the album featured the talents of some of the world’s foremost female instrumentalists and vocalists, including Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Esperanza Spalding and Gretchen Parlato.

Earlier this year, she earned her second Grammy Award when her 2014 album, “Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue,” was recognized with the Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

Joining Carrington, who teaches percussion at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, her alma mater, and her band, will be acclaimed jazz vocalist Lizz Wright, whose voice is rooted in the gospel music she grew up with. NPR has hailed Wright’s music “as spiritually uplifting as it is graceful, grounded and unmistakably cool.”

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Legendary drummer Peter Erskine Erskine has been voted “Best Jazz Drummer of the Year” 10 times by readers of “Modern Drummer” magazine.

Erskine, who has been voted Best Jazz Drummer of the Year 10 times by readers of “Modern Drummer” magazine, is internationally known as an energetic and expressive performer in a wide range of musical styles. He has collaborated with artists as diverse as Stan Keaton, Weather Report, Chick Corea, Joni Mitchell and Steely Dan. A prolific recorder as well as performer, Erskine has released 50 albums and produces jazz recordings on his own label, Fuzzy Music.

Prior to his concert performance, Erskine will conduct a free clinic on Friday (11/7) from 1:30-2:30 in Shattuck Hall 46. The clinic is open to anyone who would be interested in attending.

The Saturday evening concert will pay tribute to award-winning composer and arranger Fred Sturm, who founded Jazz Celebration Weekend in 1981. Sturm, the long-time director of jazz studies at Lawrence, died Aug. 24 after a long battle with cancer. Erskine, and the Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Patty Darling, will perform Sturm’s “Home Jubilation” and “Patience” as part of the program.

More than 750 middle and high school students from throughout Wisconsin and neighboring states will attend Jazz Celebration Weekend to participate in educational jazz clinic sessions on campus. The visiting clinicians include Ike Sturm, music director for the Jazz Ministry at St. Peter’s Church in New York City, trombonist Tim Albright of the Julliard School, trumpeter Frank “Pancho” Romero of New Mexico State University, trumpeter Marty Robinson of UW-Oshkosh and bassist Karyn Quinn of UW-La Crosse.

In addition to the two headliner concerts, five free concerts will be held throughout the day on Saturday, including a 1:30 p.m. performance in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel by the Lawrence Jazz Band under the direction of Matt Turner. The free Saturday concerts are highlighted in color in this PDF.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Percussion Power: Eight Concerts Highlight Zeltsman Marimba Festival June 29-July 12

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Michael Tilson Thomas’ “Island Music,” featuring four marimbists and two percussionists, will be performed Saturday, July 5 in Stansbury Theatre as one of the festival’s eight concerts. (Photo by Michael Ptacin.)

For two weeks, Lawrence University will be the center of all things marimba.

Lawrence welcomes nearly 60 musicians — world-class, international performers as well as dedicated up-and-coming artists — to campus June 29-July 12 for the 12th annual Zeltsman Marimba Festival, an educational forum and concert series celebrating percussion. This will be the sixth time in the festival’s history Lawrence has served as host.

One of the largest gatherings of marimba students and professionals in the world, the festival features a series of eight public concerts by an impressive slate of performers from around the world. With a diverse array of styles, the concerts offer an unparalleled opportunity to experience the marimba’s versatility.

Percussionist Dane Richeson, professor of music at Lawrence, is one of the festival’s faculty members and guest performers. He says the festival provides an uncommon treat for music lovers.

“It is an honor to have the Zeltsman Marimba Festival back at Lawrence. This is an exciting event that provides the Fox Cities the chance to experience music they have never heard before on an instrument with an ancient history,” said Richeson. “Audiences will have the rare opportunity to see some of the greatest marimba artists, many of whom rarely come to the Midwest, perform solo and chamber music works. Since many of these works have not been released on CD, this will likely be the only chance to hear this music.”

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Jack Van Geem (left) and Nancy Zeltsman will be among the performers at this year’s mirimba festival June 29-July 12 on the Lawrence campus. (Photo by Claudia Hansen.)

In addition to Richeson, Lawrence faculty members Mark Urness (bass) and Anthony Padilla (piano) and 2007 Lawrence graduate Michael Truesdell, also will be among the performers.

The concert series schedule:

 Sunday, June 29 — Dane Richeson / Mike Truesdell, percussion virtuosi; 7:30 p.m., Harper Hall.

 Wednesday, July 2 — Jack Van Geem, “The Dance / Jonathan Singer, marimba explorations of dance music, ragtime and more; 7:30 p.m. Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Free pre-concert talk: “Introduction to the Marimba,” 6:30 – 7 p.m.

 Thursday, July 3 — Nanae Mimura (Japan) / Alejandro Ruiz (Colombia), cross-cultural marimba virtuosi; 7:30 p.m., Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Free pre-concert fun: Xylopholks, 6:30 – 7 p.m.

 Saturday, July 5 — Stars of Zeltsman Marimba Festival, “Island Music,” a rare performance of Michael Tilson Thomas’ sensational work for four marimbists and two percussionists, and other extravagant adventures with mallets; 7:30 p.m., Stansbury Theatre.

 Monday, July 7 — Nancy Zeltsman, sotto voce / various artists, multi-media marimba and more; 7:30 p.m., Harper Hall.

• Wednesday, July 9 — Jean Geoffroy (France) / Joint Venture Percussion Duo (China/Luxembourg), great artists from abroad; 7:30 p.m., Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

• Friday, July 11 — Anders Åstrand (Sweden) / Mark Urness, bass / Dane Richeson, drums, an evening of jazz and more; 7:30 p.m., Harper Hall.

 Saturday, July 12 — Participants Marathon Concert; Noon – 5 p.m., Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Tickets for the concert are available at the door at $15 for adults, $10 for students/seniors (cash only). Tickets can also be ordered in advance with a credit card at ZMFconcerts.evenbrite.com.

Five free concerts also will be conducted:

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The plaza outside the Warch Campus Center will be the site for two, free, lunch-time concerts on July 2 and July 9 during the Zeltsman Mirimba Festival.

• Wednesday, July 2 — 11:30 a.m – 1:30 p.m., Griff’s Grill, Boldt Plaza (outside Warch Campus Center).

• Wednesday, July 2 — Pre-concert talk: “Introduction to the Marimba,” 6:30 -7 p.m. Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

• Thursday, July 3 — Pre-concert fun: Xylopholks, 6:30 -7 p.m., Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

 Friday, July 4 — “Island Music” open rehearsal; 11:30 a.m. — 1:30 p.m., Cloak Theatre, Music-Drama Center.

• Wednesday, July 9 — Lunchtime Marimba Concert, 11:30 a.m -1:30 p.m., Griff’s Grill, Boldt Plaza.

Zeltsman, who teaches marimba at Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory, where she is chair of the percussion department, launched the festival in 2001 to bring people together “to share unforgettable, stimulating musical experiences in an atmosphere of support and camaraderie.”

“I’m thrilled that ZMF will bring together so many acclaimed artists and talented young musicians to share their music and collaborate with each other,” says Zeltsman. “Marimbists aren’t ‘household names,’ but we hope people will take a leap of faith and experience some remarkable performances and exciting, thought-provoking, moving music.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2014 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.