Spring
2008 Schedule of Events
TCU JAZZ
The TCU Jazz Ensembles have appeared in
concert with such notable international jazz
artists as Hank Levy, Don Menza, Urbie
Green, Mike Vax , Ed Shaughnessy, Pete
Christlieb, Ashley Alexander, Frank Mantooth,
Roger Pemberton, Roy Hargrove, Willie
Thomas, Carl Fontana, Jon Faddis, Shelton
Berg, Rich Matteson, Leon Breeden, John
Fedchock, Patrick Williams, Marvin Stamm,
Onzie Matthews, Louis Bellson, Clark Terry,
Terry Bozzio, Will Calhoun, Dom Famulara,
Chester Thompson, Tony Campisi, Peanuts
Hucko, the Hal Galper Trio, Chris Vadala,
Conte Candoli, Vince DiMartino, Bill Watrous,
Dave Pietro, Allen Vizzutti, Carl Saunders,
Wayne Bergeron, and Andy Martin. In
addition, the campus has hosted many
outstanding professional bands, including
Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson,
Count Basie, Mike Vax’s “TRPTS”, the Jim
Widner Big Band, and the Stan Kenton Alumni
Band directed by Mike Vax, plus numerous
service bands.
The annual TCU Jazz Festival has become one
of the most prestigious festivals in the
state. Since its beginning in 1978, the
event has attracted more than 18,000
talented high school players. In addition,
bands have attended the TCU Jazz Festival
from as far away as Tennessee, Iowa, and
Hawaii.
The band has performed at numerous TMEA
conventions in San Antonio, Texas. Other
notable performances include the Mobile Jazz
Festival (Mobile, Alabama), Longhorn Jazz
Festival (Austin, Texas), Wichita Jazz
Festival (Wichita, Kansas), and North Texas
Jazz Festival (Addison, Texas).
In May of 1979, the ensemble took a
twenty-two day concert tour of the Soviet
Union and Poland. During the spring of
1984, the TCU ensemble toured the New York
City area. In March 1986, the band
performed in St. Louis, Chicago, and
northern Indiana. In April of 1987, the TCU
Bluegrass/Country-Western Band performed for
one week in Tokyo, Japan in conjunction with
an American Trade Fair. In July 1991 and
1999, the band toured Austria, Switzerland,
and Hungary, performing at the prestigious
Montreux Jazz Festival, and Vienna (Austria)
Jazz Festival. During the Summer of 2001,
they performed at the 8th Annual
Honolulu Jazz Festival in Hawaii. In July
of 2003, the TCU Jazz Ensemble performed at
the Copenhagen, Pori (Finland), and North
Sea Jazz Festivals. In July of 2007, the
TCU Jazz Ensemble appeared at the Umbria
Jazz Festival in Italy. How would YOU like to make a difference?
Thus far, the TCU Jazz
studies program has produced sixteen record
albums and CDs. In 1993, the TCU Studio
Jazz Orchestra was recognized with a Best
Performance Award by Down Beat Magazine. In
1995, the band was featured on the “Best of
College Jazz” – produced by the Sony
Corporation and ATA (America Trans
Airline). In 1999, our program was
recognized by Down Beat Magazine as one of
the top 50 collegiate jazz programs in the
United States. Three jazz ensemble CDs
(Classic Mix, Dream On, and Leap Frog) were
recognized by IAJE as one of the “Top-10”
College CD’s of 2002, 2004, and 2006.
TCU Jazz Band CD's Available:
LeapFrog
Dream On
Classic Mix
CURT
WILSON
Director of Jazz Studies
Professor of Music
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Curt Wilson has taught at TCU
for thirty-one years. Prior to
that, he served as Director of
Bands at Ashland College;
Ashland, Ohio (1972-1976). From
1968-1972, he was on the music
faculty at Valley City State
College; Valley City, North
Dakota. As a professional
woodwind performer, he has
played with Fred Waring and the
Pennsylvanians, Glenn Miller –
Tex Beneke Orchestra, and many
others. In 2001, Professor
Wilson conducted the Texas
All-State Community College All
Star Jazz Ensemble at the annual
TMEA Convention in San Antonio.
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Curt Wilson has also served as the
president of the Texas Unit of IAJE.
His arrangement of Dave Brubeck’s
Blue Rondo Ala Turk was performed in
2002 at the International Clarinet
Conference held in Stockholm, Sweden by
the Texas Clarinet Consort. His
Concerto for Trumpet and Wind
Ensemble was performed at the
International Trumpet Guild (ITG)
Conference in 2003. In July of 2004,
his elegy for tuba solo and band (Rainbows)
was performed at the International
Tuba/Euphonium Conference in Budapest,
Hungary by German tuba artist Markus
Theinert. In December of 2005, the New
York Pops Symphony Orchestra performed
two of his Christmas arrangements for
choir and orchestra in Carnegie Hall.
The Texas Clarinet Consort commissioned
him to arrange a Antonio Carlos Jobim
medley for a performance at
CLARINETFEST, held in Vancouver,
B.C. in 2007. Curt Wilson has been the
recipient of the Dean’s Teaching Award
(2001) and the College of Fine Arts
Award for Distinguished Achievement as a
Creative Teacher and Scholar (2005).
His jazz ensemble music is available
through Walrus Music.
