Ohio Wesleyan to Host Pete Mills Jazz Quintet With Matt Wilson, Pete McCann
Saxophonist Pete Mills will debut his upcoming CD, ‘Sweet Shadow,’ at Ohio Wesleyan’s Performing Arts Series. (Photo courtesy of Pete Mills)
DELAWARE, Ohio – Columbus-based, Canadian-born saxophonist Pete Mills will debut his latest CD, “Sweet Shadow,” on Sept. 20 as part of Ohio Wesleyan University’s 2013-2014 Performing Arts Series.
Tickets are available now for the Pete Mills Jazz Quintet performance, which will be held at 8 p.m. Sept. 20 in Jemison Auditorium in Ohio Wesleyan’s Sanborn Hall, 23 Elizabeth St., Delaware. The musicians also will present a free jazz master class at 3 p.m. Sept. 20 at the concert venue.
The quintet features Mills and New York City-based musicians Matt Wilson (Grammy nominated drummer), Pete McCann (guitarist), and Martin Wind (bassist), and Erik Augis (Columbus-based pianist).
Tickets for this and each Ohio Wesleyan Performing Arts Series event are $20 for general admission and $5 for senior citizens and non-OWU students (with a valid school ID). Tickets are free for Ohio Wesleyan students and employees with a valid university ID. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ticketweb.com, by phone message at (740) 368-3629, or by email at paseries@owu.edu. The quintet concert also will be streamed live online at https://www.owu.edu/about/follow-owu/stream-owu/.
“Sweet Shadow,” Mills’ fourth solo CD, marks his first release on the Vancouver-based label Cellar Live Records. The CD includes original music written by Mills to showcase the full band. According to The (Columbus) Dispatch, Mills’ compositions are “impressive with solos that are ear opening … [and] with a tone that is big and rich.”
The CD also features music by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn (“The Star-Crossed Lovers”); a standard made famous by Marilyn Monroe, (“Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”); and a quirky tune by Columbus native, and recent inductee to the Lincoln Theatre Walk of Fame, Rahsaan Roland Kirk (“Serenade to a Cuckoo”). Mills, who teaches saxophone and jazz studies at Denison University, also will perform with the quintet at 8 p.m. Sept. 21 at Denison’s Burke Recital Hall in Granville. Learn more at www.petemills.com.
Additional upcoming events for Ohio Wesleyan’s 2013-2014 Performing Arts Series include:
8 p.m. Oct. 5 – Musicians Yumi Kurosawa and Deep Singh perform on the koto (Japanese stringed instrument) and tabla (Indian drums), including traditional and modern works, in Jemison Auditorium inside Sanborn Hall, 23 Elizabeth St., Delaware. The New York Times has described Kurosawa’s playing of the 20-string instrument as “mesmerizing.” Learn more at www.yumikuro.com. 8 p.m. Jan. 18, 2014 – Robert Post Comedy Theater: The One-Man Variety Show, featuring a performance that will “combine a quart of dry humor with three tablespoons of expert mime, versatile acting, and skilled juggling; add a keen sense of satire and the absurd; [and] blend in splendid timing and experience,” in Chappelear Drama Center, 45 Rowland Ave., Delaware. The New York Times has said the physical comedian “merits a place on anybody’s all-star team of the goofily gifted.” Learn more at www.robertpost.org. 3 p.m. March 23, 2014 – The Central Ohio Symphony, under the direction of Jaime Morales-Matos, collaborates with the Performing Arts Series to present a community celebration of peace that includes Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” featuring the Ohio Wesleyan University Choral Art Society and Capriccio Chorus, and Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” featuring the Choral Art Society. The concert will be held in Gray Chapel inside University Hall, 61 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. Learn more at www.centralohiosymphony.org. 8 p.m. April 23, 2014 – Conundrum, a chamber musical ensemble featuring Mary Elizabeth Southworth, soprano; Danielle Hundley, flute; Marianne Breneman, clarinet; and Philip Amalong, piano, performs “audience-oriented new music played with passion, humor, and conviction,” in Jemison Auditorium inside Sanborn Hall, 23 Elizabeth St., Delaware. “Each piece is an exquisite diamond with each musician one of its facets, finding the perfect fit, with a luster that is clear and polished,” says concert director Jim McCutcheon. The Ohio Wesleyan performance will feature several original works created by OWU students from assistant music professor Jennifer Jolley’s composition studio. Learn more at www.conundrummusic.com.
Each year, the OWU Performing Arts Series brings a series of professional guest performers to campus. Past performers have included the Vienna Boys Choir, Chanticleer men’s chorus, and RHAW – The Rennie Harris Hip-Hop Dance Company. Learn more at http://pas.owu.edu.
Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities, with more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Located in Delaware, Ohio, just minutes north of Ohio’s capital and largest city, Columbus, the university combines a globally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that translate classroom theory into real-world practice. OWU’s close-knit community of 1,850 students represents 41 states and 45 countries. Ohio Wesleyan was named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” and is included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.