UL Lafayette Jazz Ensemble hosts concert

LAFAYETTE — The New York Voices, a Grammy Award-winning quartet, will perform with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Jazz Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 21 at Angelle Hall.
The University’s 20-piece big band is rehearsing nine songs for the performance, said Dr. William Hochkeppel, director of the Jazz Ensemble.
“The arrangements are tremendous,” Hochkeppel said. “There are some great jazz classics, a Stevie Wonder tune and a Paul Simon tune. There’s swing, bebop, blues, a samba, and that’s just to name a few.”
The New York Voices formed in 1987. Its style is rooted in jazz, but also features Brazilian, rhythm and blues, classical and pop influences.
The group has performed across the world, including at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Zurich Opera House, the North Sea Jazz Festival in Montreal and the New Orleans Jazz and Blues Heritage Festival.
“New York Voices lives up to its reputation as the most exciting vocal ensemble in current jazz,” the Boston Herald reported.
Members of the New York Voices’ also will conduct clinics and master classes on campus for the UL Lafayette Chamber Singers; the Tiger Tenors, an all-male a cappella group at LSU; and students who attend Westgate High School in New Iberia, Hochkeppel said.
The New York Voices also will hold an open rehearsal for music groups from area schools at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20 in Angelle Hall.
Hochkeppel said educators who are interested in taking students to the open rehearsal should contact him at (337) 482-5669 or hochkeppel@louisiana.edu.
General admission tickets for the Feb. 21 performance with the UL Lafayette Jazz Ensemble are $10. Tickets for high school and elementary school students will be $5. Admission will be free for University students, faculty and staff.
For more information, contact the UL Lafayette School of Music at 482-6012 or music@louisiana.edu.