Grammy award-winning saxophonist Dick Oatts will headline Missouri State’s 2016 Jazz Festival in April. The festival is an opportunity for young musicians to perform at MSU and take master classes from jazz professionals.

Register your band

Registration is now open to school bands and ensembles interested in participating in the annual event.

Schools have the option of participating in the competitive or non-competitive divisions. Slots are given on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Divisions:

• Big Band
• 2nd Bands
• Jr Hi/Mid School Bands
• Combos

To register your band(s), visit the jazz festival website.

Fees:

• 1st Band: $250
• 2nd Band or Combo: $180
• 3rd Ensemble or more: $110

For questions, email the music department or call jazz studies director Randy Hamm at 417-836-6739.

Jazz Festival event details

April 23, 2016
Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts

Schedule

All day: Master classes with Oatts and the MSU jazz studies faculty
5 p.m.: Awards ceremony
7 p.m.: Free concert featuring Oatts and the MSU Jazz Studies Ensemble I

All performances are open to the public. Visit the jazz festival website for more details.

About Dick Oatts

For 30 years, Oatts has appeared at college jazz festivals as a soloist and clinician throughout the world. He has also been featured with the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra, Danish Radio Big Band, Norboton Jazz Orchestra, Metropole Orchestra, and the UMO Big Band in Helsinki.

Oatts has accompanied such vocalists as Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme, and has recorded solos for pop artists like Luther Vandross and James Taylor.