Karrin Allyson guest artist at 16th Annual HCC Jazz Festival

HOLYOKE -- Grammy-nominated vocalist and pianist Karrin Allyson will be the guest artist at the 16^th annual Holyoke Community College Jazz Festival on Friday, March 22, and Saturday, March 23, at Holyoke Community College.

The annual festival kicks off with an opening night concert Friday at 8 p.m. in the Leslie Phillips Theater with Allyson joining the Amherst Jazz Orchestra, a big band under the direction of trombonist and retired UMass jazz professor David Sporny. Admission is free (with HCC ID) for HCC students, faculty and staff. Admission for the public is $15, and $10 for students and seniors.

The festival continues on Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with performances throughout the day in the Leslie Phillips Theater by high school jazz bands and combos, the HCC Jazz Ensemble, Chamber Vocal Ensemble and Jazz Improvisation Combo. Each group will be critiqued by professional jazz educators from the area.

Karrin Allyson will conduct two clinics, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Two different jazz combos made up of HCC faculty and other professional jazz musicians and educators will conduct combo performance workshops and jazz jam/discussion sessions throughout the day with participating high school students.

A concluding concert will be held Saturday from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Leslie Phillips Theater with Karrin Allyson performing with a select combo of high school students representing each participating school, an HCC student group and a group of festival faculty.

Saturday events are free and open to the public, but individuals who wish to participate in workshops will be charged a nominal registration fee.

For information, contact Robert Ferrier at (413) 552-2480 or rferrier@hcc.edu.