OSU concert to feature International jazz artist

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

(March 31, 2010, STILLWATER, Okla.) – Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis will host the 2010 OSU Jazz Festival at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 10 at the Seretean Center for the Performing Arts.

Special guest is saxophonist Bob Sheppard who has performed with artists such as Chick Corea, Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. Sheppard currently is a member of The Peter Erskine Trio.

Sheppard has recorded more than 100 television and movie soundtracks. “Bob is an accomplished musician who is in high demand in Los Angeles as a session musician,” said Jonathan Martin, assistant professor of music and director of jazz studies at OSU. “We are pleased to have him perform, as well as work with serious jazz students from throughout the state of Oklahoma.”

Sheppard’s visit to Stillwater will include a jazz master class for festival participants and an evening performance with the OSU Jazz Ensemble I. About 100 high school students from throughout the state and two OSU jazz ensemble classes are expected to take part in the day-long event.

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester (N.Y.), Sheppard is an educator at the University of Southern California.

The Saturday evening concert is open to the public and tickets are $5 for students and seniors, while general admission is $7. For more information, phone (405) 744-6163 or visit http://music.okstate.edu.

The festival is hosted by the OSU Office of the President and the OSU Department of Music, which is one of 24 departments in the College of Arts & Sciences.