CU Jazz Ensemble to Leave for Fall Tour

By Joan C. McKinney | 10/29/2008

By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - The Campbellsville University Jazz Ensemble will be leaving for its annual fall tour on Monday, Nov. 10. The jazz ensemble, under the direction of Jennifer L. Tinnell, will be performing at seven high schools in three and a half days.

“The tour schedule is fast-paced but the students always rise to the occasion,” said Tinnell, director of bands and instructor in music.

“By the time tour is over we are a very tight-knit group,” she said. The students will perform at various high schools including: LaRue County, Grayson County, Henderson County, Madisonville North Hopkins, Nelson County and Anderson County.

On Thursday mid-morning, the ensemble will head out one last time to perform at Russell County High School before returning to CU to play its home concert.

The jazz ensemble will be performing some big band classics such as Alexander's Ragtime Band, Splanky and April in Paris as well as some well-known charts from the 1970s by The Beatles, Tower of Power and Chicago.

“There is quite a wide representation of jazz styles so there will definitely be something on the program to please everyone” said Tinnell.

The home concert will be Thursday, Nov. 13 in The Gheens Recital Hall in the Gosser Fine Arts Center and is free and open to the public. The concert begins at 8 p.m.

Assisting the jazz ensemble on tour will be a small percussion ensemble from CU. This ensemble is under the direction of CU's director of percussion studies and assistant director of the Tiger Marching Band, Chad Floyd.

“We're always excited to have the chance to go out and play and recruit for the University,” Floyd said. “It's a lot of hard work but in the end, it's well worth the effort.”

Members of the jazz ensemble, all from Kentucky, include: Tonya Hoagland, a junior from Campbellsville; Daniel Motley, a sophomore from Scottsville; Chris Malcomson, a sophomore from Campbellsville; Justin Hayes, a freshman from Campbellsville; Austin Gilliatt, a sophomore from Scottsville;

Stephen Coates, a freshman from Leitchfield; Jonathan Ragland, a freshman from Munfordville; Warren Akers, a senior from Campbellsville; Jason Tiller, a junior from Russell Springs; Tim Howe, a sophomore from Dry Ridge; Brian Riggs, a sophomore from Lawrenceburg; Daniel Murphy, a senior from Bloomfield;

Bradley Whitehead, a junior from Russell Springs; Jonathan Chaudoin, a senior from Louisville; Ricky Gunter, a sophomore from Albany; Nathan Wilkerson, a senior from Munfordville; and Matt Hodge, a graduate student from Louisville.

Members of the small percussion ensemble include Nathan Wilkerson, a senior from Munfordville; Mary Gray, a sophomore from Owensboro; Daniel Murphy, a senior from Bloomfield, Sidney Coffey, a freshman from Campbellsville; Kyle Duke, a graduate student from Russell Springs; and Ricky Gunter, a sophomore from Albany.

For more information about the School of Music at CU, e-mail music@campbellsville.edu or call (270) 789-5237.

Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 2,601 students who represent 93 Kentucky counties, 27 states and 31 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report's 2009 “America's Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 22nd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South for the second consecutive year. CU has been ranked 16 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America's Best Christian Colleges®. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his tenth year as president.