Department of Music

Jazz Ensemble

Fall 2023 audition information

Auditions will be held during the first class meeting, Monday 8/14, 2:00pm, Zeigel Hall 209A (band room).  For any questions, please contact Dr. Pimentel at bpimentel@deltastate.edu.

All instrumentalists:

Prepare the provided musical excerpt. Improvisation is not required.

You may use these resources to help prepare:

Saxophonists, please audition on whichever saxophone you are the most comfortable with. Parts will be assigned following auditions. You may need to obtain reeds for the instrument that you are assigned to play.

Interested guitarists must be able to provide a jazz-appropriate guitar and amplifier, and be able to play convincing jazz chord voicings.

The DSU Jazz Ensemble is a “big band” made up of music majors and non-music majors selected by competitive audition. The band is known in the community for its annual Big Band Bash fundraiser, an evening of dining, dancing, and classic Swing Era music.

 

Big band jazz is characterized by tightly coordinated, high-energy playing from a large horn section made up of trumpets, trombones, and saxophones, working in partnership with a powerful, driving rhythm section of keyboards, bass, and drums. Individual group members often perform solos that are “improvised”—composed spontaneously in live performance.

The DSU Jazz Ensemble’s repertoire includes favorites from the Swing Era of the 1930’s and 1940’s as well as more contemporary jazz styles from the 1950’s to the present.