Bridgewater College Ensemble and Jazz Band in concert Sunday in Cole Hall

Bridgewater College’s Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Band will perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10, in Cole Hall on the College’s campus.

The band, under the direction of BC associate professor of music and director of instrumental music Dr. Christine Carrillo, began in 2023 and allows students new to jazz to learn the basic jazz styles regardless of instrument played. The band will perform “Twist and Shout” by Bert Russell and Phil Medley and arranged by Roger Holmes, featuring soloists BJ Kirkpatrick ’28 on alto saxophone and Nicole Sanchez Traverso ’28 on trumpet.

“Time to Testify” by Jeff Jarvis and Rick Hirsch’s arrangement of “When Johnny Comes Struttin’ Home” will follow.

Featured soloists on the first piece include Kirkpatrick, Brenden Bradbury ’27 on piano and Gauge Russell ’27 on guitar, while the second piece will feature Abigail Ferguson ’26 on tenor saxophone, Shelby Herrold ’27 on trumpet, Katie Johnson ’25 on trumpet and Wenmarie Rivera-Mercado ’28 on baritone saxophone.

For the second half of their performance, the Jazz Band will perform “Sway (Quien Sera)” by Pablo Beltran Ruiz and arranged by Rick Stitzel, followed by “Blue Monk” by Thelonious Monk and arranged by Michael Sweeney. Soloists on “Blue Monk” include Bradbury, Ferguson, Johnson and Jeffrey Robinson ’26 on vibes. The band will conclude their repertoire with “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney with arrangement by John Berry.

Next, the Jazz Ensemble will take over and begin with “Jump, Jive an’ Wail” by Louis Prima and arranged by Mark Taylor and “Cotton Tail” by Duke Ellington and arranged for orchestra by Barrie Lee Hall Jr. Featured soloists include Stephen Layton ’26 on drum set, Nicholas Rhodes ’27 on guitar and Conner Scye ’26 on tenor saxophone for the first piece and Scye and Nathan Sullivan ’25 on trumpet for the second.

“Jelly Roll” by Charles Mingus and arranged by Sy Johnson and the exciting piece “Absoludicrous” by Gordon Goodwin will follow. Soloists on “Jelly Roll” include Layton, Owen Angell ’25 on trombone, Erika Beck ’28 on alto saxophone, Charlie Hale ’26 on bass and Andy Wildermuth ’28 on piano. “Absoludicrous” will feature solos from Angell, Layton, Rhodes, Robinson, Scye and Wildermuth, along with Rosie Clark ’26 on baritone saxophone, Estrella Ramos ’27 on alto saxophone and Joseph Sepulveda ’26 on clarinet.

The ensemble will then perform “Libertango” by Astor Piazzolla and arranged by Michael Philip Mossman, with solos from Angell, Robinson and Wildermuth. Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now,” arranged by Andy Clark, will follow and feature solos from Beck and Itali Hoover ’27 on trumpet.

The concert will conclude with “Mack the Knife” by Kurt Weil and arranged by Sammy Nestico and “Get It On” by Bill Chase and Richard Marinan and arranged by Paul Jennings, with soloists Elijah Lowe ’28 on trumpet and Anna Williams ’27 on guitar for Weil’s piece and Williams and Rhodes for Chase and Marinan’s piece.

The performance is free and open to the public.

Founded in 1880, Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college in the Central Shenandoah Valley. Bridgewater College is home to approximately 1,450 students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate majors and minors and four graduate programs housed within three distinct schools.