Music lovers take note: this Friday, Mar. 7, the region’s top youth and professional jazz musicians will perform at Wilton High School’s Little Theater at the 48th Annual John Rhodes Jazz Symposium.
Two jazz ensembles from Wilton High School will perform at this event. Joining the Wilton ensembles are jazz bands from Waterbury and across Fairfield County. Wilton High School’s Jazz II ensemble will kickstart the event with a performance at 4 p.m., followed by performances every half-hour by Ridgefield, Kennedy, Brien McMahon, New Canaan, Staples, Darien and Fairfield Warde high schools, and the Wilton High School Jazz I ensemble.
Wilton High School’s Band Directors Troy Williams and M.J. Alexander are excited to welcome Berkshire Jazz Orchestra for a guest performance at 9 p.m. Active performers and educators from the Fairfield County community make up the heart of the Berkshire Jazz Orchestra. This popular group can be seen on stages across the region.
The symposium also welcomes back the musician and longtime Wilton resident Arthur Lipner. He is respected worldwide for his specialization in vibes, marimba and steel pans. Appearing on over 50 albums, Lipner has taught and presented on six continents, and he is an author as well as a composer. Lipner will provide feedback for each youth jazz ensemble participating in the symposium.
John Rhodes, a former music education teacher in Wilton, initiated the Jazz Symposium in 1976 and dedicated 42 years of service to music education in Wilton. Rhodes was the band director and instructional leader at Wilton High School and Middlebrook School. He was also an operetta-, musical-, and theater director. When Rhodes retired in 2018, Wilton Public Schools officially bestowed his name on its annual jazz symposium in appreciation for his dedication to promoting music in the Wilton community.
An announcement about the Wilton Jazz Symposium said it “is more than just an incredible local event to please our ears. It provides a forum for students to perform for one another and for the public. It was the original jazz festival of its kind in our state. The format of the festival is now a standard throughout the state and region at large.”
Over 150 students and professionals will share their talents to deliver an evening of live musical performances, with a wide range of musical repertoires represented including styles from traditional big band swing to contemporary jazz, from Latin to ballads. The event is free and open to the public.