Southwestern’s Music Department Ensembles perform end of term concerts, Nov. 30

The Music Department at Southwestern Oregon Community College is pleased to present its end of term concert series from November 30, 2015 to December 3, 2015 at the Hales Center for Performing Arts on Southwestern’s Coos campus. Celebrating 51 years of music at Southwestern, the concerts are open to the public and will begin at 7:00 pm each night. On Monday November 30, Southwestern’s Symphonic Choir, under the direction of David Aakre, will perform a variety of holiday classics. There will also be a guest appearance from the local group “Gold Coast Chorus” who will also perform some holiday classics. After a short intermission the Symphonic Choir will perform excerpts from Handel’s “Messiah.” On Tuesday December 1, the Southwestern Community Orchestra, under the direction of our new conductor Rolly Toribio (who is a Southwestern Alumnus) will perform a variety of works for Orchestra, including works by various composers along with a few Christmas classics. The Orchestra will also honor their “retired” conductor Mark Allen! On Wednesday December 2, come join us for an evening of Jazz music as the Southwestern Vocal Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Ida Jo Gates, will perform a variety of Jazz, Popular, & Holiday classics arranged for Swing Choir. This is also Ida Jo’s first concert after returning from a long hiatus from Southwestern and we are very pleased to have her back! Finally, on Thursday night December 3, the Southwestern Instrumental Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Professor Mike Turner, will perform a variety of Jazz and Popular tunes including All of Me, Girl from Ipanema, Satin Doll and many others. While all the concerts are free and open to the public, the music department will be accepting donations to help pay for our many department needs. Also, the Music Club will be collecting non-perishable food items at each concert as part of the College’s Van Jam project, so please bring an item with you to deposit in the music club boxes at the entrance to the hall. For more information contact Mike Turner (Professor & Director of Music) in the Southwestern Music Department at 541-888-7242, or mturner@socc.edu.