First Christian Church hit its seating capacity on Nov. 23 as guests filled the pews to watch the ETSU Jazz Ensemble perform their concert of holiday music. The ensemble was dressed in Christmas sweaters, and strands of tinsel were wrapped around the music stand.
The night featured 12 musical pieces starting with “It’s the Holiday Season.” According to the Director of Jazz Studies Martin Walters, they have been rehearsing these pieces since mid-September, but they were chosen as early as last summer.
“All summer long I was listening to big band arrangements of Christmas tunes,” Walters said. “I actually took a trip down to Florida to visit some of my friends and family down there and basically listened to Christmas music in the car all the way there and all the way back. It helped me to choose some pieces that I really liked.”
Guest saxophonist Dan Hitchcock brought some of his own arrangements and was part of performances of “Christmas is Coming” and “Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” which according Walters, these arrangements had never been previously recorded. Hitchcock is married to Emily Loboda, a saxophone professor at ETSU.
“Right now they live in North Carolina, but they are moving here in December,” Walters said. “I thought a great way to try to welcome them both to the community is to have him as our guest artist at the show.”
This was only the ensemble’s second holiday show under the direction of Walters. His focus with these concerts is on the impact on the community.
“I think my favorite part is just getting the group out in front of the community and entertaining the people from Johnson City and from the Tri-Cities area and putting on a nice show for them, something that’s educational,” Walters said. “It is just really fun to be able to showcase the students and the band who have worked so hard on performing this music.”
The night concluded with a rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” arranged by Gordon Goodwin.
The next ETSU Jazz Ensemble concert will be May 1, 2020, at First Christian Church. Tickets are free for students with an ID, $5 for senior admission and $10 for individual admission.
