UK Jazz Program Continues to Hit the Right Notes
Five students from UK Jazz Studies were recognized as winners in the prestigious DownBeat magazine 31st Annual Student Music Awards. UK musicians, David Harper, Angie Ortega, Joe Carucci, Chris Strange and Brad Grable, took honors in the magazine's classical soloist, jazz vocalist and jazz group categories.
By Brittany Meyer
The University of Kentucky Jazz Studies Program continues to hit all the right notes. From invitations to perform at national concerts to winning international competitions, the students in UK's jazz program are recognized year in and year out for their accomplishments.
One of UK Jazz Studies' most recent accomplishments includes the recognition of five students from the acclaimed program, who nabbed three prestigious DownBeat magazine 31st Annual Student Music Awards. UK student musicians, David Harper, Angie Ortega, Joe Carucci, Chris Strange and Brad Grable were named winners in the magazine's classical soloist, jazz vocalist and jazz group categories.
DownBeat is one of the most respected jazz publications in the country, and its annual student jazz competition allows students of all ages from around the globe to compete against their peers. The awards are among the most coveted in jazz education.
UK's winners in the DownBeat competition were heralded for their work last summer in the magazine's June 2008 issue. Harper was named the only college winner of the Classical Soloist category; Ortega was one of three college winners in the Jazz Vocalist category; and UK Mega-Sax was one of three college winners of the Jazz Group category. All UK winners study under Miles Osland, director of Jazz Studies and professor of saxophone at the UK School of Music.
Born and raised with music, the five winners from UK first developed their musical abilities through family ties.
"My whole family is musical, and I have always been around a phenomenal musical community," says Harper, a native of Cadiz, Ky. "It's kind of hard not to get into music when you're constantly surrounded by it on all sides."
Harper, who also was the 2003-2004 recipient of the prestigious Mildred Lewis Award for Performance at UK School of Music, selected UK to further his music education based on its reputation and faculty. "This award shows me how great the musical community can be," Harper says. "There is constant support from the University of Kentucky faculty, which warms my heart to be a part of this extraordinary music community. It's nice to know that hard work is acknowledged."
The importance the DownBeat recognition carries is not lost on UK's other winners either. "When you are lucky enough to win, it is a big honor," adds Ortega, who was recognized twice by the publication. "DownBeat is a well-known jazz magazine and to be given that kind of recognition gives you the feeling that you might actually be doing something right."
Besides a solo award for vocals, Ortega also took honors as part of the winning UK Mega-Sax Ensemble. The UK group is comprised of four students from throughout the eastern U.S. including Carucci, on baritone saxophone, from Clifton Park, N.Y.; Grable, on tenor, from Hopkinsville, Ky.; Ortega, on soprano/alto, from Glendale Heights, Ill.; and Strange, on alto, from Windham, Maine.
Established in 1989 by Osland, UK Mega-Sax was created to increase the awareness of this musical genre through live performances and recordings. The group performs nontraditional and modern-sounding saxophone quartet compositions and arrangements. This is the fourth time this UK ensemble has been recognized in the prestigious international competition vying against groups from such other noted schools as the Eastman School of Music, Julliard, Berklee College of Music and Manhattan School of Music, just to name a few.
"It is a privilege to represent the University of Kentucky in a competition that draws entries from the entire nation," Strange adds regarding the extraordinary honor.
Each student plans to pursue a career in the music industry whether it be teaching, playing or exploring different ways to express their talented musical abilities gained from their time at UK School of Music.
Currently, Harper is developing a book of Braille saxophone skills modeled after Osland's "Scale Anthology." Ortega is travelling the world performing on a cruise ship and Grable is touring the Midwest promoting a new CD by a contemporary jazz group. Carucci and Strange are finishing up doctoral degrees in music at UK.
Osland couldn't be more thrilled with his student's successes and future plans. "It is very satisfying to see students get rewarded and recognized for all of their hard work," Osland says. "It reminds me why I went into this 'business' in the first place."
