La Fiesta Latin Jazz Sextet public concert postponed due to winter weather forecast

SILER CITY, N.C. — The free public concert by Gregg Gelb and La Fiesta Latin Jazz Sextet — originally scheduled for Friday, January 28, at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City — has been postponed due to a forecast for winter weather that could make travel conditions hazardous.

The decision was made after Chatham County Schools advised that all evening, school-related activities could be canceled.

JMArts is currently working with band director Gelb to find another date for the concert. When that new date is arranged, it will be announced on the JMArts website (jmarts.org) and all JMArts social media platforms.

The concert was planned to wrap up an afternoon Latin Jazz clinic attended by members the JM Jazz Ensemble and selected eighth-grade musicians from Chatham Middle and Silk Hope schools. The clinic for student musicians will still be held on Friday, January 28, but has been moved earlier in the day.

Both the concert and jazz clinic are supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The 2021 Grassroots Arts Grant for $1,550 covers half of the program cost; the rest will be matched by JMArts through member contributions and fundraising projects like the sale of JMArts greeting and holiday cards.

More information about JMArts, including details about this concert, a schedule of all upcoming arts events and information on membership, is available online at JMArts.org.

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Fourth-annual Sing and Play student musical competition set for February

SILER CITY, N.C. — Sing and Play ’22, the fourth-annual musical competition for students from elementary through high school, returns after a one-year pandemic hiatus with auditions and its popular showcase concert set for next month at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City.

Instrumental and vocal acts will compete for a $50 prize awarded for the best performance in each of three age categories — elementary, middle school and high school. Acts may be individuals or ensembles up to four people, with all performers being full-time students in a North Carolina public, private or home school.

Auditions will be held by appointment at Jordan-Matthews on Tuesday, Feb. 8, from 3:45 to 5:45 p.m., when a panel of judges will select four to six acts in each age category to perform in the competition. Each act selected during auditions must pay a $10 registration fee to enter the competition. Individuals and ensembles wanting to audition must register online by Tuesday, Feb. 1.

The Sing and Play Showcase competition concert will be Thursday, Feb. 24, at 6:30 p.m., in the Jordan-Matthews Auditorium. Immediately after the performances, winners will be selected by audience vote. General admission is $5 per person and includes one vote in each category.

An overview of the competition — including rules and a link to the registration form — is available online at jmarts.org/s/JMArtsSingAndPlayRules2022.pdf.

Sing and Play is a fundraiser for JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, a nonprofit created to provide what student artists need to excel.

Money raised by the competition will be used by JMArts for educational projects, including its annual New York Arts Adventure. Scheduled over spring break, the educational trip to New York City gives a group of upperclass musicians, actors and visual artists an opportunity to explore one of the world’s great cities, experience the very best in the arts and gain new perspectives and experiences that will influence their lives and work. Several world-class actors, musicians and critics will meet with JM artists during the five-day adventure.

More information about JMArts and other events scheduled for this season is available at jmarts.org.

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Winners of Sing and Play ’20 celebrate with master of ceremonies Lindley Andrew. Selected as winners by audience vote were, from left, Luz Borrayo of Chatham Charter School, Ari Carrillo Ibarra of Chatham Middle School and Oliver Vang of Moncure School, pictured with Andrew. The competition was not held last year because of the pandemic. (Photo by Chip Pate)

La Fiesta Latin Jazz Sextet performs free public concert as part of JMArts jazz clinic

SILER CITY, N.C. — Gregg Gelb and La Fiesta Latin Jazz Sextet will perform a free public concert at Jordan-Matthews High School on Friday, January 28, at 7 p.m., to conclude an afternoon jazz clinic for student musicians.

Gelb is a professional saxophonist, clarinetist, jazz composer and jazz band leader who leads The Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra and has performed with many different groups, including the North Carolina Symphony. He currently directs the award-winning Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble, which has been selected five times for the finals of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition and festival, and has served as an interim assistant professor of jazz at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and UNC Greensboro.

La Fiesta Latin Jazz Sextet includes players from North Carolina, one of whom is originally from the Dominican Republic. The ensemble teaches jazz history, the improvisation process and performs at events all across the state — drawing for its repertoire on music by jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea and Horace Silver.

Scheduled to perform in the 75-minute concert are Steve Anderson on piano, Andy Kleindienst on bass, Beverly Botsford on percussion, Ramon Ortiz on drums, Andrew Sanchez on trumpet and Gregg Gelb on saxophone. Some of the group’s featured tunes are “Cape Verdean Blues,” “Oye Como Va,” “Mambo Inn” and “Son de la Loma.”

Because of the recent pandemic surge, indoor performance and school policy, masks must be worn while in the building and attending the concert.

The concert wraps up an afternoon clinic attended by members the JM Jazz Ensemble and selected eighth-grade musicians from Chatham Middle and Silk Hope schools, with sessions led by members of the sextet for trumpet, trombone, woodwind and percussion musicians. During the concert, student musicians will perform one number with La Fiesta Latin Jazz Sextet.

Both the concert and jazz clinic are supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The 2021 Grassroots Arts Grant for $1,550 covers half of the program cost; the rest will be matched by JMArts through member contributions and fundraising projects like the sale of JMArts greeting and holiday cards.

More information about JMArts, including a schedule of all upcoming arts events and information on membership, is available online at JMArts.org.

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Members of La Fiesta Latin Jazz Sextet perform a free, public concert on January 28 after providing a clinic for members of the JM Jazz Ensemble and selected eighth-grade musicians. (Photo courtesy of Gregg Gelb)

The Gregg Gelb and La Fiesta Latin Jazz Sextet clinic and concert are being supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.