TCU jazz students represent America at Cuban music festival

FORT WORTH, TX (Nov. 16, 2010 — The TCU Jazz Ensemble has been invited to perform at the 2010 Havana International Jazz Festival in Havana, Cuba from Dec. 14-20, 2010. In addition to approximately 26 students and School of Music participants, the trip has been made available to additional guests, including members of the Chicago and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras, parents, TCU faculty and other interested parties.

According to organizer Curt Wilson, director of jazz studies, the group will depart on Wednesday morning (Dec. 15) from DFW to Miami on American Airlines, returning on Monday, Dec. 20 for a total of six days/five nights. The trip is being sponsored through Harmony International. The group has full clearance from the U.S. State Department.

TCU will be the only performing group from the United States at this festival attended by musicians from South America and Europe. The TCU Jazz group will perform two to three additional concerts in Havana, including a performance and master classes at the Havana National School of Music.

“This is an exciting and rare opportunity for the TCU,” says Wilson. The band hopes to use the trip as a chance to learn about Cuban music because of its influence on jazz in the 1940s and 1950s.

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TCU Jazz Ensemble 2010  

NY Times article about the 2010 Havana Jazz Festival