Nebraska Jazz Orchestra presents "KC Swing"

Nebraska Jazz Orchestra presents KC Swing Join the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra for the final concert of the 2011-2012 season, "KC Swing," featuring guest artist Kerry Strayer, saxophone. "KC Swing" will also feature the winner of the 2012 Young Jazz Artist Competition, John Kosch, piano. "KC Swing" will be held Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at the Cornhusker Hotel, 333 South 13th Street in Lincoln, Nebraska at 7:30 p.m. Priority seating for season ticket holders and Jazz Club members is at 7:00 p.m., with general admission seating beginning at 7:15 p.m. Single admission tickets are $25 for Adults and $12.50 for Students and may be purchased by contacting the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra business office at (402) 477-8446 or njo@artsincorporated.org. Kerry StrayerKerry Strayer was born and raised in Fairbury, Nebraska and attended Doane College in Crete, Nebraska where he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1982 he moved to Kansas City to study saxophone with Professor Tim Timmons at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, earning a Master of Music degree in Saxophone Performance in 1985. Since that time Kerry has been active as a saxophonist, recording artist, bandleader, composer, arranger, adjudicator and private instructor. He currently leads several performing groups and teaches privately from his home. In 2010, Kerry was appointed Artistic Director/Conductor of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, after serving as the group's baritone saxophonist since its inception in 2003. From 1996-2009 he was the Music Director for the Plaza Lighting Ceremony. Kerry also performs several times a year with the Kansas City Symphony Pops Series. Kerry has released seven recordings including two critically acclaimed recordings with his septet, Jeru Blue featuring Randy Brecker and Mentor with Gary Foster. His latest releases are Play It Where it Lays, with his quartet featuring Gary Foster, and In a Mellotone, with his trio and quartet. Kerry released a recording with his 17-piece big band in 2006 of music he wrote for the Plaza Lighting Ceremony, "Christmas in Kansas City: Music from the Plaza Lighting Ceremony." Kerry's groups have performed at several local and regional concert series including Plaza Art Fair, Plaza Live, Clock Tower, Zona Rosa, Johnson County Community College, First Fridays at Truman Medical Center, Jazz in June (Lincoln, NE), Jazz on the Green (Omaha, NE), Jazz in Joplin, Topeka Jazz Workshop and Northwest Oklahoma Concert Series (Alva, OK). In 1999 Kerry performed a Tribute to Gerry Mulligan concert at the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival in Portland, OR. As a member of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Kerry had the honor of performing for the inauguration of President George Herbert Walker Bush in 1989. Kerry and his wife Gailyn live in south Kansas City, MO and are active members of the John Knox Presbyterian Church. Young Jazz Artist Winner John Kosch is a pianist and a senior at Lincoln Southwest High School. He was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, by his parents, Floyd and Janet Kosch. He has three siblings: Sarah, Elizabeth, and Peter. Although originally a drummer in the jazz band, John was asked by his director to switch to piano his sophomore year. Now, in his senior year, he is a member of LSW Jazz 1, has received outstanding musicianship awards at both the UNC-Greeley and UNO Jazz festivals, and he was a member of the 2012 Young Lions All-Star Band. John is also involved in various other musical ensembles. As a vocalist, he was a three-year member of the NMEA All-State Choir, and he currently serves as LSW choir president. He has also directed the school's men's choir on several concerts, including a performance at UNL's annual Men's Festival. In marching band, he was the percussion section leader, as well as the freshman band drum major. He plays the french horn in symphonic band, string bass in the orchestra, as well as the baritone saxophone in LSW's prep jazz ensemble. John hopes to study music education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with an emphasis in composition. He is excited to audition for UNL's jazz ensembles, and is eager for the opportunity to continue playing jazz in college. Young Jazz Artist Runner-Up Luke Thallas is a freshman tenor trombone major at UNL. In his short time there, he has played principal and second trombone in the UNL Wind Ensemble and UNL Symphony Orchestra, as well as lead trombone in the UNL Big Band and the Boneyard (an all-trombone jazz ensemble.) Luke has also been a member of the UNL Trombone Ensemble, Varsity Men's Chorus, Undergraduate Trombone Quartet, and the Capital Brass Quintet. Luke graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. While a student, he was a member of the band, jazz band, and orchestra all four years. He was the trombone section leader during his junior and senior years, and won the John Philip Sousa School Music Association's Solo/Ensemble Contest for four years in a row, and earned the Best of Center Award for his junior and senior year, both solos of which he played at the Outstanding Performer's Showcase at Iowa State University. Luke was a four-year member of the Southwest Iowa Honor Band, as well as a two-year member of the Missouri River Conference Honor Band and a member of the University of Iowa Honor Band. As a senior, Luke was selected to be in the Iowa All-State Band, where he earned the position of Principal on first part. Luke played lead trombone in the Metro Area Youth Jazz Orchestra in Omaha his senior year. Over three years, Luke earned six Outstanding Soloist of the Day awards, including two at the Dick Bauman Memorial Jazz Festival, Bellevue Jazz Festival, and the Big Apple Classic music festival in New York.

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