Jazz and Contemporary Ensembles open performance season

Jazz and Contemporary Ensembles open performance season

On Monday, October 18, 7:30 PM in the Chestnut Room, YSU’s Kilcawley Center, the YSU Jazz and Contemporary Ensembles will present their first concert of the fall term. The Jazz Ensemble is directed by Kent Engelhardt and will feature music by award-winning alumnus, jazz composer Bryan Kennard. John Anthony directs the Contemporary Ensemble.

The Jazz Ensemble will feature music by Sammy Nestico, Thad Jones, Bob Mintzer, and award-winning alumnus, jazz composer Dr. Bryan Kennard. The program will also include vocals by Noah Landry.

The Contemporary Ensemble will play music by Vulfpeck, Kamasi Washington, and “Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and it will feature vocals by Audrey Jobe.

YSU alumnus Dr. Bryan Kennard (MM 2008, Flute Performance) is an award-winning composer and flutist. He recently completed his doctorate in Jazz Composition at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and leads an active schedule as a writer, performer, and educator in Northeast Ohio. His recent works include compositions for large and small jazz ensembles, chamber ensembles, and full orchestra.

Kennard also holds a Masters in Jazz Composition from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Music from Mercyhurst University. He was awarded the 2016 Stribling Award for Excellence in Jazz Studies while attending UT, was a Young Composer Showcase selectee at the 2019 JEN Conference, and received multiple Downbeat Student Music Awards for his performances, compositions, arrangements, and audio engineering. Kennard serves as adjunct faculty at YSU.

Kennard has performed at the Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals, the Jazz Educators Network Conference, the National Flute Association Convention, the International Double Reed Society Convention, and the Texas Music Educators Association Convention. He has also presented his music in workshops at the International Society for Jazz Arrangers and Composers Symposia. He has worked privately with outstanding composers and arrangers including Gary Lindsay, John Daversa, Stephen Guerra, John Mills, and Dave Morgan.