Fort Morgan, CO. 11/18/19. Morgan Community College’s (MCC’s) Jazz Ensemble will kick off the holiday season with a concert December 8, 6 p.m. at the Fort Morgan Middle School (605 Education Ave., Fort Morgan). The annual MCC Jazz Ensemble Winter Concert will feature holiday favorites such as Winter Wonderland, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!, alongside big band versions of popular tunes by The Beatles, Average White Band, and The Rippingtons.
The Jazz Ensemble concert will also feature the world-premiere performance of a piece written by Greeley composer Elliot Turner and inspired by the music of Glenn Miller. Turner is an award-winning composer and guitarist with a passion for third stream music, which is the meshing of jazz and classical styles and techniques to create a new world of sound.
He has composed for the Pacific Lutheran University Symphony Orchestra’s Student Showcase Concert, the University of Puget Sound Jazz Orchestra’s guest performances with Victor Wooten and Joshua Redman, and various other classical/jazz ensembles. Turner will introduce his piece as a part of the show and deliver a talk-back after the concert for any listeners interested in hearing about his creative process.
The MCC Jazz Ensemble will be directed by Nicholas Booker, the group’s director since 2017. “We feel privileged to be working with the incredible Elliott Turner, and we’re excited to be putting his music alongside some of our holiday favorites this concert,” states Booker. “I love being able to create these sorts of events that I feel really embody the musical spirit of Fort Morgan and Morgan County.” The Winter Concert is free and open to the public.
The MCC Jazz Ensemble is part of Morgan Community College’s Center for Arts and Community Enrichment (CACE). For more information about this concert or how you can join the Jazz Ensemble, please visit www.MorganCC.edu/CACE.
