Marietta College's Spring Jazz Concert scheduled for April 18th

Jazz Combo and FloodStage to perform at 7:30 p.m. in McDonough Auditorium

Marietta, Ohio (04/11/2017) — Marietta College's Edward E. MacTaggart Department of Music is conducting its annual Spring Jazz Concert at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 18th, in the Alma McDonough Auditorium.

The concert is free and open to the public, however a free will donation will be taken during the concert.

The Marietta College Jazz Combo, under the direction of Jordan Reed, and FloodStage, under the direction of Dr. Jay Dougherty, will be performing.

The Jazz Combo will be performing two original compositions that were written by two students - Matthew Pietzcker '20 (Pataskala, Ohio) and Logan Reynolds '19 (Vincent, Ohio). Dr. David Torbett, Marietta College's Israel Ward Andrews Professor of Religion, has also written an arrangement for the combined performance of the Jazz Combo and FloodStage.

The other music ensemble on the performance is FloodStage, which is made up of singers in other Marietta College choral ensembles, both concert choir and women's choir.

"While the name is the same as an ensemble the College has previously had, it is an entirely different ensemble, performing a different genre of music. Instead of singing jazz, FloodStage is a contemporary a cappella ensemble, performing arrangements of modern pop and rock songs, completely a cappella," Dougherty said. "Most people know the name Pentatonix. FloodStage sings in a very similar style. We have a vocal percussionist, (KeXin) Coco Shao, who, coincidentally, is also a percussionist in the College band."

Professor Marshall Kimball, Music Department chairman, said, "This concert is one that is less formal than many concerts. The audience can really get involved in this music with lots of musical styles performed and music from differing eras in the development of jazz and popular music. I am very pleased with the direction our jazz and popular music ensembles have taken this year. The educational opportunities afforded by these two ensembles are fresh, highly educational and challenging. This concert will be a wonderfully musical and uplifting experience for all in attendance."

Located in Marietta, Ohio, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, Marietta College is a four-year liberal arts college. Tracing its roots to the Muskingum Academy begun in 1797, the College was officially chartered in 1835. Today Marietta College serves a body of 1,200 full-time students. The College offers 45 majors and has been listed among Barron's Best Buys in College Education and Peterson's Competitive Colleges, and has been recognized as one of the top regional comprehensive colleges by U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review, as well as one of the nation's best by Forbes.com.

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