WT Jazz Bands to Offer Free Concert As Part of Greater Southwest Music Festival

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University jazz bands will be the featured entertainers at the annual Greater Southwest Music Festival.

The bands will perform with guest drummer Dion Parson at 7:30 p.m. April 27 in the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St.

Jazz Band I—under the direction of Doug Storey, associate professor of music—will perform “Groovin’ High” by Dizzy Gillespie, “Open Wide” by Don Ellis, “Minuano” by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, “The Way You Look Tonight” by Jerome Kern and “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Louis Prima.

Parson will be a featured soloist on the latter two pieces, and he will play his arrangement of “Saint Thomas” with a student jazz combo.

“It’s always a treat for our students to perform with a legendary, award-winning musician,” Storey said. “We all benefit from interaction with world-class artists, and the fact that we get to perform with Dion Parson in front of an audience of fans and talented students from around the region makes it even better.”

Jazz Band II­—under the direction of Dr. James Barger, associate professor of saxophone—will perform “Hunting Wabbits” by Gordon Goodwin, “(It’s Just) Talk” by Metheny, “Norwegian Wood” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, “Red Clay” by Freddie Hubbard and “Hit and Run” by Denis DeBlasio.

Parson is an educator, composer and a Grammy Award-winning drummer. A native of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Parson’s musical foundation ranges from classical, reggae, calypso, jazz, African, and pop music. He studied at Interlochen Music Academy in Michigan through a grant from Virgin Islands Council on the Arts and was later selected to represent the islands as a drummer in the McDonald’s All-American High School Band. Parson later attended Rutgers University in New Jersey where he studied percussion with Keith Copeland and William Moersch. He earned a bachelor’s in music education in 1990 and his master’s in jazz performance in 2012. Parson also studied with master drummer Michael Carvin who remains his mentor.

He is a prominent part of the New York Jazz scene, playing with a wide variety of artists, including such greats as Milt Jackson, Monty Alexander, Jon Faddis, Geri Allen, Lee Konitz, Dianne Reeves, Wycliffe Gordon and Cyrus Chestnut.

As an educator, he has taught at several educational facilities, including Rutgers University and Harlem School of the Arts, among others. He has founded “Mentoring through the Arts of Music,” a program of the United Jazz Foundation; and the Caribbean Jazz Institute at the Snow Pond Center for the Arts in Sidney, Maine. Since 2019, he is the chair of the Communication, Art, Theatre and Music Department of the University of the Virgin Islands.

Jazz Band I members include Dillon Martin, a sophomore music education major from Odessa; Emanuel Garcia, a freshman music performance major from Dumas; Zeke Roberts, a senior music education major from Lubbock; Max Gray, a junior music education and performance major from Tomball; Braden Lefevre, a graduate student in music performance from Canyon; Adam Johnson, a sophomore music education major from Springtown; Sergio Almanza, a sophomore business administration major from Borger; Blake Livingston, a graduate student in music performance from Amarillo; Norrin Hodgson, a junior music education major from Odessa; Spencer Owens, a sophomore music education major from Levelland; Gavin Poole, a freshman music performance major from Clifton; Alec Jung, a sophomore music education and composition major from Midland; Justin Slaughter, a senior music education major from Odessa; Caleb Hesse, a sophomore music performance and pedagogy / composition major from Bushland; Joshua Galan, a senior accounting major from Amarillo; David Romo, a junior music education major from Amarillo; Tristan Mouw, a junior music technology major from Amarillo; and Payton Hayes, a sophomore music education major from Midland.

Jazz Band II members include Katie Aschoff, a graduate music performance student from David City, Nebraska; Shawn Frausto, a junior music education major from Amarillo; Zach Limb, a senior music education major from Midland; Kaitlyn Rubinski, a sophomore music education major from Amarillo; Coby Mount, a sophomore music education and composition from Midland; Jack Sprague, a freshman music technology major from Amarillo; Diego Arias, a freshman music education and performance major from Amarillo; Blake Livingston, a graduate music performance student from Amarillo; Max Gray, a junior music education and performance major from Tomball; James Selman, a sophomore music education major from Amarillo; Richard Snyder, a community member from Amarillo; Isaiah Nanez, a freshman music education major from Dumas; Gavin Poole, a freshman music performance from Clifton; Caleb Hesse, a sophomore music performance and pedagogy / composition major from Bushland; Samuel Bencomo, a freshman mechanical engineering major from Hereford; Carson King, a freshman music education major from Rockdale; Brogan Lichte, a senior music education major from Littlefield; J.P. O’Brien, a freshman music education major from Anna; and Catherine Dockery, a freshman music therapy major from Wichita Falls. 

The free public concert is a highlight of the annual music festival, one of the largest such in the Southwest. More than 7,000 students in elementary through high school programs will perform between April 27 and 29.

“The festival is in its 53rd year, and as a steward, the Amarillo Symphony continues to seek out collaborative community partnerships in the arts and beyond to ensure its longevity,” said Irma-Esther Borup, education and community engagement director for the Symphony.

Parson also will host a jazz clinic for festival participants at 1:40 p.m. April 28 in the Amarillo Civic Center Complex, 401 S. Buchanan St.

Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched in September 2021 — has raised more than $120 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WT—