Jazz students in Washburn’s music department delivered their first concert of the school year Thursday, Oct. 13 at White Concert Hall.

Various ensembles performed works by legendary artists such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, John Coltrane, Slide Hampton and several more.

With smooth intros and colorful solos, the jazz students had several members of the audience grooving along with them in their chairs.

Nick Hogue, senior in music education, and Simon Walrod, freshman in music education, swapped drumming and vibraphone parts with each other during the concert jazz ensemble set.

“I’ve been playing drums for five years, and I’ve been playing jazz vibraphone for four years, I would say,” Hogue said. “It’s really just about changing technique. As you do it over time it kind of just becomes second nature.”

Daniel Buller, senior in economics and finance, played drums for the jazz orchestra and the student jazz combo, Jazzocracy.

“It’s nice being back in front of people and playing again. We’ve been working hard on all this music all semester,” Buller said. “Our director definitely has high expectations for us and loves to challenge us.”

Craig Treinen, director of jazz and chair of the music department, spoke about the suspensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic before introducing the final song.

“That was really hard for us. It felt like an eternity,” Treinen said. “Tell everybody you know that we are back.”

From Oct. 22 to Nov. 3, the Washburn University Department of Music will hold four more concerts, ranging from symphony orchestra to percussion. For more event information, visit https://calendar.washburn.edu/.

Edited by Glorianna Noland, Rakesh Swarnakar