Listen to great jazz from the comfort of your home with the 49th Annual Lakeland Jazz Festival
Posted: March 3, 2021
Photo courtesy of carolwelsman.com
The Annual Lakeland Jazz Festival, the oldest jazz festival in the State of Ohio, will celebrate its 49th year March 12 and 13, 2021, with a little different format. This year, the Friday and Saturday night concerts are being presented free to all in video format through a link offered on the college’s website. Visit lakelandcc.edu/jazzfestival or click the link below to learn more.
The festival headliner this year is Carol Welsman, a renown jazz vocalist and pianist, who is scheduled for Saturday, March 13, at 8 p.m. Welsman is an international artist who has garnered many JUNO Awards (Canadian Grammy) and has performed in concerts around the world in multiple languages. As a special treat, Welsman will offer a pre-concert interview with WCPN radio host John Simna at 7 p.m.
On Friday, March 12, at 8 p.m., the concert will begin with a performance by the Lakeland Civic Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Ed Michaels. The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra will follow and will feature legendary tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. Lovano will perform “A Love Supreme,” which was originally arranged for the Frankfurt Radio Big Band by Jim McNeely.
The festival also presents a unique opportunity every year to the music education community in Northeast Ohio. Typically, middle and high school jazz bands perform on campus for adjudication by celebrated educators and leaders in the jazz community. This year, students are submitting videos of solo performances of either a chorus of the song “Broadway Street” or an original jazz composition for adjudication by members of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra.
About the Lakeland Jazz Festival
The festival was founded by retired professor and music department Chair Charles M. Frank. Lakeland's Jazz Festival has remained true to its original mission of instilling the excitement and magic of jazz education to the younger generation of musicians. Over 30,000 middle and high school musicians from throughout the state have participated in the festival in celebration of this uniquely American art form, jazz.
Festival coordinators are Ed Michaels, email emichaels@lakelandcc.edu and Stephen Stanziano, Ph.D., email sstanziano@lakelandcc.edu.
About the Arts at Lakeland
The Arts at Lakeland program provides students as well as community members the opportunity to express and advance their talents by performing in exceptional musical groups, participating in professional theater productions, and submitting works of art in a variety of extraordinary gallery exhibitions.
For more information about the civic music groups, theater productions, gallery shows or auditions, contact Jeri Lynn Pilarczyk in the Arts and Sciences Division at 440.525.7261 or email jpilarczyk5@lakelandcc.edu.
To learn more about how you can support the Arts at Lakeland with financial contributions through The Lakeland Foundation, visit lakelandcc.edu/Foundation.
About the Lakeland Community College
For more than 50 years, Lakeland Community College has impacted thousands of lives through learning. Founded in 1967, Lakeland was the first college in Ohio created by a vote of the people. True to its mission, the college provides quality learning opportunities to more than 10,000 credit students to meet the needs of the community at its main campus in Kirtland and online.
Accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, Lakeland offers more than 130 associate degree and certificate programs that may lead to high-demand careers or transfer to four-year institutions. The college also provides access to bachelor’s, graduate and doctorate degrees along with certificates and endorsements on campus through the Holden University Center of Lakeland in partnership with 11 four-year institutions.