Ron Carter
The nationally renowned NIU Jazz Ensemble will bid a fond farewell to its longtime beloved director, Ron Carter, at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 10, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center.
Carter, who is retiring from NIU this spring, will host a pre-concert jam session for former students and friends at 6 p.m. in the Capitol Room of the Duke Ellington Ballroom and a post-concert jam session in the Regency Ballroom following the 8 p.m. concert.
Both the concert and jam sessions are free and open to the public; although there is no admission to the concert, tickets are required. Large group advance tickets can be reserved (and are encouraged) by calling Lynn Slater at (815) 753-1546 or Carter at (815) 753-0643.
Single tickets will be available at the door to the ballroom, which is accessible to all.
Special guest for this concert is Vincent Gardner, lead trombonist for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Gardner has released four albums on SteepleChase Records and also performs and records in a group with his brother, trumpeter Derrick Gardner.
The NIU Jazz Ensemble continues to gain high critical acclaim.
From June 1998 to the present, the Jazz Studies Program at NIU has been rated as one of the top 10 graduate jazz programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report. In addition, NIU Jazz Studies has won significant recognition from Downbeat Magazine’s Student Recognition Awards, capturing more than 10 Outstanding Performance Awards.
- Watch NIU Today in coming days for a full story on Ron Carter’s remarkable NIU career!
For more information, call (815) 753-1546 or email lslater@niu.edu.