Fresh from a Kansas City high school tour that included a live performance at K.C.’s famous BB’s Lawnside BBQ, Jazz Arts at WSU is gearing up for a big performance.
Jazz Arts I and Jazz Arts II will perform with the Mid Kansas Jazz Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, in Miller Concert Hall, Duerksen Fine Arts Center at WSU.
Tom Fowler
Jazz Arts I and II are 19-piece jazz ensembles directed by the School of Music’s associate dean and associate professor Tom Fowler. Musicians are selected each year by audition.
WSU’s Jazz Arts ensembles have consistently been selected to perform at state, regional and national conferences and festivals. They have performed with guest artists including Ed Shaugnessy, Willie Thomas and Mundell Lowe, to name a few.
The Mid Kansas Jazz Ensemble, also directed by Fowler, is a select high school jazz ensemble from the central Kansas region.
It has performed at area events, including the Wichita Jazz Festival, Jazz in the Round and Wichita River Festival for more than 20 years.
Fowler also performs with Hillside Blues, WSU’s faculty jazz quartet; Wichita Jazz Orchestra; Air Capital Jazz Band; and Music Theatre of Wichita Orchestra. He has been educational director and vice president of Wichita Jazz Festival Inc. since 1980.