Big band jazzes things up in a classical way
Big band noise and classical melodies aren’t the first things that spring to mind when considering music that mixes well together.
New Zealand School of Music’s Big Band is more likely to be found raising the roof in places like Rogue and Vagabond, while its classically-inclined orchestra is more often found performing symphonies.
But the two will soon be mixing and mingling for an upcoming concert, An American In Wellington, with American Grammy-nominated pianist Shelly Berg.
Combining the two different ensembles may have its challenges, as saxophonist Louisa Williamson explained, but the musicians were well on their way to working things out.
The main thing for the jazz students was keeping an ear out for their volume, she said. ‘‘We can play a lot louder than [the orchestra]. It’s a little tricky as we can’t hear them as well, as they project out the front. So it’s a good exercise for us in keeping our ears open.’’
Violinist Patrick Hayes is in his second year of his music degree, majoring in classical performance, and plays in the orchestra. The musicians have the technical knowledge to play jazz but it was a matter of ‘‘getting into it’’, Hayes said.‘‘You don’t count it, just feel it.’’
Working with jazz musicians and playing with that style gave him more of an insight into what he was doing as a classical musician. ‘‘It’s definitely a new experience. Even though we’ve done [concerts] like this before, it’s a way to try something different.’’
Hayes has been playing since he was four years old – mostly because he was given a choice between a violin and a piano and a piano was ‘‘a little tricky to carry around’’.
Performing onstage with soloist Berg was also a highlight for the musical pair. Williamson said it would be inspiring to perform alongside him, even playing some of Berg’s arrangements.
‘‘I’m looking forward to being around someone who obviously has such an amazing work ethic and passion for what he does.’’
At tomorrow’s concert, the big band musicians and orchestra will tackle pieces by Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Debussy and Bernstein.
Berg is best known as a producer, composer, arranger and director. He was recognised with a Grammy nomination in 2017 for his work on jazz musician Clint Holmes’ record, Rendezvous.
An American In Wellington is on tomorrow at 7.30pm at the Michael Fowler Centre. Tickets from $5.