Jazz 1
UW-Platteville’s Jazz 1 ensemble performed on Monday, April 22 in the Center for Fine Arts. Assembled of less than 20 members, Dr. Dave Cooper directed the band. Titled “Live Music,” the connection between songs was the relation of student arrangements and music written by people still living.
The first piece, “River Odyssey,” was arranged by a friend of Cooper’s and featured solos from Chris “Shorty” Thompson and Andrew Melson. Dr. Cooper was especially excited to play music from legend Maria Schneider’s “My Ideal.” “Strasbourg-St. Denis” featured a range of soloists, including Josh “Mom” Karstetter on the saxophone. Dr. Cooper introduced the next piece, “Whiplash,” joking about the similarities of the band to the song’s musical namesake.
The next piece, “Mas Que Nada,” was arranged by Karstetter, who said, “I heard it on Apple Music, and it tickled my mind a little bit.” Dr. Cooper himself arranged the next song, John Coltrane’s “Alabama,” mentioning the story of the 16th Street Baptist Church and the attacks upon it. Saxophone professor Austin Cebulske performed on the baritone sax in Cole Porter’s “You Do Something to Me.” The final piece was of Dr. Cooper’s own creation, titled “The Last One.” Thomas Liddle and Karstetter soloed through the piece, wrapping up the lively concert with impressive skills.
Pioneer Jazz Orchestra
Pioneer Jazz Orchestra’s concert was held the following Thursday. Titled “Press Play,” the overarching theme was video game music. The orchestra is also directed by
Dr. Cooper and contains similar instrumentation to its Jazz 1 counterpart. Student musicians arranged a multitude of the themes.
The concert began with Nintendo’s “Coconut Mall,” arranged by student Kyra Liske, featuring Killian Poquette and Thomas Wertel as trumpet soloists. Following that, “The Joy of Gaming” medley featured Kyra Liske with a vocal solo and a trombone solo by Joe Wetak. “Closing Credits” featured vocal soloist Chris Andraski.
Portal’s “Still Alive” was performed next, with trumpet player Ed Schofield playing a solo in the piece. The following song “Tank!” comes from the Cowboy Bebop anime, where August Zimmerman and Bram Bystrom soloed. UW-Platteville student Garrett Monis arranged one of the most recognizable pieces of modern game music, Undertale’s “Megalovania,” featuring himself and Brady Guth. “DK Island Swing” featured Wetak and Zimmerman.
In the final stretch of the concert, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl’s “Eterna City” featured the prowess of Aaron Simays as a soloist. The final three songs were all from the Cuphead video game. “All Bets Are Off,” “Threatenin’ Zepplin” and “Forest Follies” featured a slew of talented musicians and soloists. Trumpet player Kilian Poquette stated, “This show was a lot of fun to put on, and I’m proud of how well it came together.”
