The program will feature compositions by John LaBarbera, Frank Foster, Eubie Blake, Patty Darling and others, including several compositions by recent Grammy Award Nominee Chuck Owen. 

As a very special added bonus, this fall’s show will feature guest trumpet artist Vinnie Ciesielski. Ciesielski is one of the busiest musicians in today’s Nashville music scene, having performed on more than 5,000 recordings, 25 of which are Grammy winners. 

The concert is free and open to the public.

As a student at Towson University in Maryland, Ciesielski majored in trumpet performance then embarked on a professional music career spanning more than four decades. Since moving to Nashville in 1992, he has recorded with artists such as Lyle Lovett, Travis Tritt, Tracy Byrd, Tanya Tucker, Bad Company, Glenn Frey, T.D. Jakes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gregg Allman, Kirk Franklin, Queen Latifah, Yolanda Adams, Donnie McClurkin, Israel Houghton, The Clark Sisters and many more.

Ciesielski has performed live with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Kid Rock, Keith Richards, Jimmy Buffett, Paul Simon, Sting, Tony Bennett, Glenn Frey, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The O’Jays, Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, Shawn Colvin, Eddie Floyd, Booker T. and the MGs, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Bob Hope, Frankie Valli, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Hornsby, and The Beach Boys. He has appeared on The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Austin City Limits, Rosie O’Donnell, Ellen’s Really Big Show, The Dove Awards and The Stellar Awards.

Ciesielski has also performed on numerous radio, Internet, TV and movie soundtracks and trailers and has performed with the Nashville Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony and Orchestra Kentucky.

Please join the 黑料不打烊 Jazz Ensemble as it learns from this master of his instrument and the entertainment industry. This promises to be an enlightening and inspirational experience. 

Admission is free and the event is open to the public. For more information on Ciesielski, visit his website at .

Open auditions for the 黑料不打烊 Jazz Ensemble will be held during the band’s first class meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 28, from 12:25 to 2:05 p.m. in Room 164 of the Center for the Arts. Trumpeters, trombonists, saxophonists, pianists, guitarists, bassists and drummers are all encouraged to attend. There may even be a spot or two available for vocalists.

For more information and to get your hands on audition materials, contact Rusty Smith at .

The evening will conclude with a performance of the Marcus Roberts Trio, a long-term musical partnership between Marcus Roberts (piano), Rodney Jordan (bass) and Brian Carter (drums).

Pianist/composer, Marcus Roberts, has been hailed as “the genius of the modern piano.” In 2014, the celebrated CBS News television show "60 Minutes" profiled his life and work on a segment entitled “The Virtuoso.”  The show traced Roberts’ life to date from his early roots in Jacksonville, Florida, and at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind to his remarkable career as a modern jazz musician.

Roberts grew up in Jacksonville where his mother's gospel singing and the music of the local church left a lasting impact on his own musical style. He began teaching himself to play piano at age five after losing his sight and did not have his first formal lesson until age 12. Despite that late start, he progressed quickly through hard work and good teachers.

His recordings include solo piano, duets, and trio arrangements of jazz standards as well as original suites of music for trio, large ensembles, and symphony orchestra. His popular DVD recording with the Berlin Philharmonic showcases his groundbreaking arrangement of Gershwin's Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra ("A Gershwin Night," EuroArts 2003).

Roberts launched his own record label, J-Master Records, in 2009. Since then he has released several popular recordings on that label including: "New Orleans Meets Harlem, Volume 1" (trio), "Deep in the Shed: A Blues Suite" (nonet), "Celebrating Christmas" (trio), "From Rags to Rhythm (trio), Together Again: Live in Concert (quartet), Together Again: In the Studio" (quartet), "Romance, Swing, and the Blues" (12-piece band), and finally, in the fall of 2017, a trio recording called "Crescent."

Roberts has long been dedicated to the training and development of younger musicians. Each year, he returns to the Savannah Music Festival where he serves as an associate artistic director as well as the director of the annual Swing Central Jazz programs that bring high school students from all over the country to Savannah for educational programs and a band competition. Roberts is an associate professor of music at the School of Music at Florida State University. He holds an honorary Doctor of Music degree from The Juilliard School.

This concert is presented by the Music Department in conjunction with the 黑料不打烊 Lyceum Series. Admission is FREE – No tickets are required. 

The festival also includes the following workshops, master classes and rehearsals. All events are in McCrary Theater in the Center for the Arts except as noted. 

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Workshop/Master Class:  Visiting Band Performance Critiques

Doug Henry and Jon Metzger, facilitators

Friday, Feb. 16

10 a.m. — Cedar Ridge High School Jazz Ensemble II, Josh Cvijanovic, director

10:30 a.m. — Cedar Ridge High School Jazz Ensemble I, Josh Cvijanovic, director

11 a.m. — Knightdale High School Jazz Ensemble, Bill Holmes, director

11:30 a.m. — East Chapel Hill Jazz Combo I, Ryan Ellefsen, director

Noon — East Chapel Hill Jazz Combo II, Ryan Ellefsen, director

12:30 p.m. — Grimsley High School Jazz Band, Dr. Stefan Stuber, director

1:30 p.m. — Panther Jazz Collective, John Russell, director

2 p.m. — McDougle Middle School, Luis Rodriguez, director

2:30 p.m. — Western Alamance High School, Michael Jefferson, director

3 p.m. — Clover Garden School, Steve Morris, director

3:30 p.m. — Graham Middle School, Calvin Evans, Jr., director

4 p.m. — Georgetown Day School, Brad Linde, director

4:30 p.m. — Georgetown Day School, Brad Linde, director

Sponsored by the Department of Music and the Office of Cultural and Special Programs

Friday, Sept. 22 – 7:30 pm – Dana Auditorium in Greensboro
Saturday, Sept. 23 – 7:30 pm – Brendle Recital Hall in Winston-Salem.

Tickets: $20/adult – $5/student

More information at 

The North Carolina Brass Band, under the direction of Brian Meixner, is a 28-member brass band composed of many of the state’s finest brass players and percussionists. The diverse musicians of the NCBB have come together to provide concertgoers with a variety of musical styles including transcriptions of music for orchestra, wind band, choir, jazz and pop music, and the wealth of exciting original music written for brass band. 

The North Carolina Brass Band has recorded two albums and has been performing for audiences in its home region of the Triad and beyond. Performances at the Great American Brass Band Festival and the North Carolina Music Educators Association convention were received enthusiastically.

“The North Carolina Brass Band is the real deal!” – Vince DiMartino, brass and jazz legend

“The North Carolina Brass Band’s debut album, ‘First in Flight’, is an amazing testimony in ensemble musicianship and performance.” – International Trumpet Guild Journal

If you play trumpet, trombone, saxophone, guitar, bass (acoustic or electric), drums or piano you could contribute.  No prior jazz experience is necessary, just a desire to learn and get better. The band meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:25 to 2:05 p.m. in room 164 of the Center For The Arts and presents their Fall concert on Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in McCrary Theater. 

Interested individuals should attend the first rehearsal on Tuesday, Aug. 29. For more information please contact Instructor of Music Rusty Smith at rsmith76@elon.edu

A varied program of works made popular by artists such as the Count Basie Orchestra, Oliver Nelson, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, the Yellowjackets, Chick Corea and others will be presented. 黑料不打烊 faculty member and guitarist Chip Newton will be featured.  

Things are shaping quite nicely as we are hosting our annual 黑料不打烊 Jazz Festival in February featuring bassist Elisa Pruett, trombonist Rick Simerly and lots of middle and high school students from the region.  In addition, the band will present a Spring concert in April.  

For more information please contact Rusty Smith at rsmith76@elon.edu.

Interested students should contact Professor Rusty Smith as soon as possible to answer any questions and to set up a time for an interview/audition.