Department of Music

The UVA Jazz Ensemble, directed by trumpeter/composer John D’earth, will present their annual Spring Concert on Sunday afternoon, April 24th, at 3:30 PM in Old Cabell Auditorium.  Having designated 2016 as the “Year of the Jazz Composer,” they will present the second in a series of three concerts that feature new and classic compositions for big band and large jazz ensembles.

The matinee concert will feature excerpts from a new opera by D’earth, entitled Sacred Profanity, along with works by local Chapman Stick master Greg Howard, and a presentation of compositions by vocalist Dawn Thompson.  Singers and a chorus from D’earth’s opera, will provide a new sonic dimension to the traditional big band sound. 

Dawn Thompson, who cofounded the band Cosmology (Vanguard Records) while attending UVA in the late sixties, is the wife of the Jazz Ensemble director.   She moved to NYC, and re-formed Cosmology with D’earth, drummer Robert Jospe, guitarist John Abercrombie and others.  Playing often in Charlottesville, and finally moving here with core band members, Thompson’s vision of improvised jazz music interacting with the songwriter’s art influenced more than one generation of local musicians, including Dave Matthews, who sang with Dawn and sought her musical advice at the beginning of his career.  Ms. Thompson, who formerly taught jazz vocals at UVA, has been unable to teach or perform for several years due to cancer and cancer treatment.  Her significant contribution to the musical life of Charlottesville will be recognized and celebrated, as part of this concert, in a brief surprise ceremony.

Carter Beauford, DMB’s drummer, said, “When I first heard Cosmology I thought, this is the real deal…this is how I want to do music!”

“I am delighted by the fact that a group of people have come forward who want to honor Dawn,” said D’earth.  “I have to say that she has been a huge influence on my own musical journey and that her musical vision has a lot to do with how I see myself directing the Jazz Ensemble toward creativity from within the band.  She has always favored the intuitive connection between musicians, over the studied connection.”

Several pieces from D’earth’s recent opera, Sacred Profanity, which was work-shopped at Live Arts Theater this winter, will be performed in big band versions, featuring guest singers and instrumentalists.  Greg Howard’s Still Water, and Dissent will join groundbreaking compositions from the past by big band innovator Thad Jones and Maynard Ferguson musical director Michael Abeni.

“We began 2016 with a new chair for our music department, Matthew Burtner, who is a celebrated composer and one of the architects of our cutting-edge composition program, D’earth said.  “Matthew , Dawn, and I all collaborated on this same stage when Matthew came here years ago.  As a response to his call for synergy across disciplines in our department I am putting it out there that the UVA Jazz Ensemble wants to present original compositions from different musical perspectives, so stay tuned.”  

This spring’s UVA Jazz Ensemble concert marks the middle of an exciting year for the band as it offers itself to the wider community of composers fostered at UVA.  Watch, and listen to, where this idea goes.

Tickets are $10 for the general public, $9 for UVA faculty and staff, $5 for students and free for UVA students who reserve in advance. Tickets can be purchased at the Arts Box Office by calling 434.924.3376 or visiting www.artsboxoffice.virginia.edu.

Old Cabell Hall is located on the south end of UVA's historic lawn, directly opposite the Rotunda.  (map) Parking is available in the central grounds parking garage on Emmet Street, in the C1 parking lot off McCormick Rd, and in the parking lots at the UVA Corner.  Handicap parking is available in the small parking lot adjacent to Bryan Hall.

A photo essay documenting the opera's latest workshop, rehearsed and performed this past January through Live Arts' New Works On Fire program, can be found here. Story by Caroline Newman with photos by UVA professor John Mason.

All programs are subject to change.