This content was published: March 6, 2014. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Rock Creek presents evenings of music, clinics to entertain the senses
Photos and story by James Hill
Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Campus Performing Arts Department is presenting a jazz clinic and concert featuring the Joe Manis Trio and the Rock Creek Chamber Ensemble at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 11, in The Forum, Building 3. Both performances and clinic are free and open to the public.
The Joe Manis Trio consists of Joe Manis (tenor sax), George Colligan (Hammond organ) and Jason Palmer (drums). They will host the clinic at 4:30 p.m. Manis, a musician and educator, is the recipient of a 2013 Oregon Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship. Colligan performs regularly throughout the U.S. and Europe both with his own ensembles and with the legendary drummer Jack DeJohnette. Jason Palmer is a drummer and the department chair for the Performing Arts Department at the Rock Creek Campus. The group will discuss the finer points of group interaction, group improvisation, and how to not only play jazz, but play as a dynamic ensemble.
Later in the evening, the trio will perform with the Rock Creek Chamber Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. The concert will feature a performance of exciting and invigorating jazz arrangements of songs from a wide spectrum of musical styles. Compositions will be drawn from the American Songbook, from jazz composers, including Thelonious Monk and Ornette Coleman, and rock bands, including Radiohead and Pink Floyd. The trio’s performance with the ensemble will feature repertoire from many styles and genres, including Brazilian compositions, classical repertoire and Afro-Cuban music.
Global Music Extravaganza
The Rock Creek Choirs will present a program of choral music, featuring musical styles from across the globe at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, March 14 and 15, in The Forum. The proceeds from this concert will help fund the choir’s first tour to of the Oregon coast in May. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for seniors and students. Admission is free for children under 10. Tickets are available at the door.
The choirs, under the direction of Pollyanna Hancock-Moody, will present vocal music from India, Hungary, Georgia, Ireland, South Africa, Sweden, England, France, Italy, Estonia and U.S. The choirs will be featured in addition to guest student instrumentalists. This concert is intended to raise awareness about the Rock Creek Music Program. The Rock Creek Thursday Night Community Choir is currently accepting members. The course is available for credit (MUS220) or as non-credit (626G). No experience is necessary.
For more information on any of these events, contact Jason Palmer at jason.palmer@pcc.edu, or call (971) 722-7869.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »