All Star Jazz Band wails during recent scholarship benefit concert.
The Fine Arts Department recently sponsored an “All-Star Big Band Jazz Concert” on February 27 in the K. R. Williams Auditorium to support the Emory Jones Endowed Scholarship in music.
“Well-known musician and educator Dr. Burgess Gardner served as conductor for the evening and he provided the musical arrangements for the band,” said Dr. Charles Hicks, chair of the Fine Arts Department. “Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter Derrick Gardner joined other outstanding jazz performers from this area to create the all-star band. Five of those musicians are themselves alumni of WSSU.”
“We are excited about the concert and that it provided an opportunity to increase the funding for the Emory Jones Endowed Scholarship,” Hicks added. “Emory Jones dedicated his time, energy and talent to the music program at WSSU. His love for the university, his commitment to the WSSU band and his care for each student created a musical legacy, and the marching band remains an icon for the school.”
Count Basie Jazz Band vocalist Chris Murrell lends his support to the scholarship effort.
The Emory Jones Scholarship was created to support undergraduate students at WSSU who are majoring in instrumental music education and plan to be a public school band director. It is named in honor of Emory Jones, a 1971 WSSU alumnus, who served public school students in North Carolina for more than 30 years. He taught at West Davidson, Atkins, East Forsyth and Carver high schools before serving as band director for WSSU from 1994 until he retired in 2004.
The event raised more than $2,000.
