Interlochen Concert

[interlochen]

Students from Interlochen Arts Academy will give a special performance at St. Cecilia Music Center on Sunday March 7, at 3 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and will include performances by the jazz combo, percussion ensemble and a string quartet. Tickets are not required. It is the first Academy performance in Grand Rapids since 2005.

The eleven-member percussion ensemble will perform a variety of pieces including a marimba trio, an African-influenced piece on traditional instruments and a trio for three percussionists on one bass drum. The group is led by John Alfieri, the instructor of percussion at Interlochen Arts Academy.

The jazz combo will showcase five Interlochen jazz musicians performing several pieces including “Dat Dere,” a soul-jazz classic rooted in gospel music, “Pression,” a new composition based on the jazz standard “Cherokee,” and many others. The group is led by Bill Sears, the director of Jazz Studies at Interlochen. The jazz and percussion ensembles will also join together for a performance of Pat Metheny’s “Minuano.”

The string quartet will perform movements from quartets by the Spanish composer Juan Crisostomo Arriaga and French composer Maurice Ravel. The quartet is coached by David Holland, the instructor of viola at Interlochen Arts Academy.

[LA Dave]

I would recommend this concert strongly. IAA is recognized as the finest arts high school in the country. Its graduates are stars in Hollywood, in the major symphony orchestras and elsewhere. Do not miss it.