Every Thursday for the remainder of May, grab a friend and head over to the Ohio State Campus and Mirror Lake as the OSU School of Music’s Jazz Studies program continues the popular tradition of presenting free, outdoor jazz concerts at Mirror Lake’s Browning Amphitheatre. This is on the Southwest end of the Oval. The jazz performance lineup for the remainder of May includes:
May 24 Jazz Workshop Ensemble – 7:30pm
May 31 The Ohio State Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dr. Ted McDaniel – 7:30pm
The Ohio State University has a great jazz program with an abundance of young talent. The Jazz Studies program offers comprehensive training to undergraduate students who are preparing for careers in jazz performance, jazz arranging and composition and in the music industry. Staffed by a faculty of artists/teachers, several of whom are nationally and internationally known, the major in Jazz Studies provides a BM degree with a concentration in jazz performance or jazz composition. Applied instruction in jazz is provided in saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, guitar, bass and drums. Music education majors may elect a jazz instrument for their applied study.
The jazz program hosts many activities each year including The OSU Jazz Symposium; the 4-day OSU Jazz Festival; and the 5-day OSU Summer Jazz Camp for high school students. Recent guest artists and clinicians include Jon Faddis, Frank Foster, Steve Turre, Andrew White, David Baker, Tia Fuller, John Fedchock, Ron Davis, Carl Allen and Wycliffe Gordon.
More about Dr. Ted McDaniel
Dr. Ted McDaniel, Professor of African American Music at The Ohio State University since 1981, is a specialist in African American music, jazz history, and jazz performance. He holds joint faculty appointments in the School of Music, where he serves as Director of Jazz Studies, and in the Department of African American & African Studies, where he served as Department Chair from 1989-1996. His scholarly and creative writings represent various aspects of jazz and black music. He has lectured extensively throughout the United States and has been invited to present in Africa, Europe and China. Known for his analysis of the music of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, he is the author of several works on black music. As a music arranger, he has written over 200 arrangements for jazz bands, R&B groups and marching bands. He has written music for the Sesame Street television show, as well as for several professional groups. Since 1981 he has been a music arranger for the OSU Marching Band, where his arrangements have been performed at virtually all of the Big Ten stadiums and at the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Citrus Bowl and Sugar Bowl.
Graduates pursue performing and teaching careers. Many continue their formal studies in jazz at graduate programs such as Rutgers University, William Patterson University, DePaul University, Eastman, and SUNY-Purchase.