UK Jazz Ensemble invited to prestigious Midwest Clinic; will preview concert Dec. 16 in Lexington
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 5, 2024) — In preparation for its upcoming performance during the 78th Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, Dec. 18-21 in Chicago, the University of Kentucky Jazz Ensemble will present a preview concert in Lexington.
The ensemble will perform at 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16, in the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall. Tickets are available at singletarycenter.com or by calling 859-257-4929.
The Midwest Clinic is a high-level invitation only performance opportunity for a broad array of student, community and professional performance ensembles. The conference offers clinics, exhibits and access to music industry professionals. Clinic organizers anticipate 18,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 40 countries at the annual conference.
“The finest concert and jazz ensembles from across the globe are invited to perform at this prestigious event,” said Miles Osland, professor of music and director of jazz studies. “This will be the University of Kentucky Jazz Ensemble’s fourth invitation to showcase their talent.”
UK Jazz Ensemble has performed at the Midwest Clinic in 2007, 2013 and 2018.
In addition to its frequent invitations to the Midwest Clinic, the UK Jazz Ensemble is a very active group in the recording studio and on the road. Osland and the ensemble have garnered critical praise with multiple four-star ratings from Downbeat magazine, and the group has toured the Midwest and South, including invitational performances at the Jazz Educators Network International Conference. The ensemble has toured Europe and China with invitational performances at the Montreux, North Sea, and Beaujolais jazz festivals. Various ensembles and courses in the jazz studies program offer rigorous performance opportunities and academic research for talented young musicians and educators.
The UK School of Music, in the College of Fine Arts, is internationally recognized for excellence in performance, music education, and research in music and offers Kentucky’s most comprehensive array of educational programs devoted to musical arts. Degrees offered include bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music; music education; music performance in brass, keyboards, percussion, strings, voice and winds; music theory and composition; music therapy; and musicology and ethnomusicology.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.