More than 70 bands to perform in Pittsburg on Friday
Monday, March 2, 2020 10:00 AM
Arts & Entertainment, News, Campus Culture
Pittsburg, KS
The 46th Annual PSU Jazz Festival is planned for Friday and is expected to draw hundreds of high school and middle schools students in 72 high school and middle school bands from across the Four State Area, and the Tom Kubis Big Band from Los Angeles.
Started in 1974 by Professor of Music Russell Jones with just 14 bands, the festival has evolved into what is believed to be the biggest one-day jazz festival in the Midwest, according to Professor of Music Robert Kehle, who now directs it.
The bands’ 30-minute concerts, which are judged, will occur both at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts on campus and Memorial Auditorium in downtown Pittsburg, starting at 8 a.m. and running until 5:45 p.m. Those performances are open to the public at no charge, but because they’re judged, attendees shouldn’t open the doors during the performances and should limit distractions.
The festival will culminate in a public concert featuring the Tom Kubis Big Band — one of the premier jazz groups in the nation — at 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Auditorium.
“They are made up of some of the best studio musicians in the world,” said Kehle. “You have heard all the players unless you never turn on the TV or go to movies, as they are on all the soundtracks. It will be concert to remember.”
Opening the concert will be the PSU Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Kehle.
Tickets for the concert are $15 for adults and $10 for children, seniors, military and veterans with valid ID, and PSU staff/faculty with valid ID. PSU students are admitted free. They may be purchased or picked up at the PSU Ticket Office in Room 137 of the Garfield Weede Building. They also may be purchased at 620-235-4796, www.pittstate.edu/tickets.
Schools participating include:
Aurora, Missouri
Baxter Springs, Kansas
Bentonville West, Arkansas
Blue Springs, Missouri
Branson, Missouri
Carl Junction, Missouri
Carthage, Missouri
Central HS in Springfield, Missouri
Cherokee MS in Springfield, Missouri
Derby, Kansas
East Newton, Kansas
Eisenhower in Goddard, Kansas
Frontier Trail, Kansas
Galena, Kansas
Goddard, Kansas
Grandview, Missouri
Gravette, Arkansas
Hutchinson Community College, Kansas
Independence, Kansas
Iola, Kansas
Kickapoo in Springfield, Missouri
Knob Noster, Missouri
Martin City, Missouri
Monett, Missouri
Neosho, Missouri
Olathe South, Northwest, North HS, Kansas
Oologa, Oklahoma
Ozark, Missouri
Parkhill, Missouri
Pioneer Trail – Olathe, Kansas
Pittsburg, Kansas
Prairie Trail – Olathe, Kansas
Raymore-Peculiar, Missouri
Raytown, Missouri
Republic, Missouri
St. Thomas Aquinas - Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
Seneca, Missouri
Wagoner, Oklahoma
Warrensburg, Missouri
Webb City, Missouri
Wichita Northwest
Willard, Missouri