Come to the William and Helen Richards Theatre at Orange Hall on Tuesday, May 9 for a two-hour session of jazz starting at 1:30pm.  The Anatomy of a Jazz Quartet is a master class presented by four great local jazz men: Mike Antonelli, tenor sax; Lou Pappas, bass;

Bill Ware, vibraphone; Tim Herrmann, drums.

Led by Dr. Michael Antonelli, tenor sax, who directs the Jazz Ensemble at SUNY Orange, the quartet members will demonstrate their instruments and play some selections. During the class, each musician will give a bit of his own history in music and how jazz is an integral part of his life as a professional musician.

Antonelli will follow his approach to jazz education which involves each individual's commitment to finding a voice through a community of practice. He will explain various instrumental groupings of quartets, how each instrument has its own voice, and yet they blend into a complementary unit. Antonelli will direct the session exploring simple techniques and tools that can help beginning and intermediate improvisers to develop their personal improvisational skills.

Interaction between the musicians and the audience will make for an exciting learning experience.

This master class is free and open to the public.

This event is offered jointly by the Arts and Communication Department and Cultural Affairs to which questions may be directed: cultural@sunyorange.edu and the website: www.sunyorange/culturalaffairs. Orange Hall is located at the corner of Grandview and Wawayanda Avenues, Middletown (GPS: 24 Grandview Ave.) on the Middletown campus of SUNY Orange.

Michael Antonelli is currently the Jazz Ensemble director at SUNY Orange. He has been an active freelance performer in the Hudson Valley for over 40 years. He earned his DMA in Jazz Education from Boston University - College of Fine Arts. His dissertation was titled "Joe Lovano and Us Five: A Study on the Development of a Unique Improvisational Voice from within the Jazz Tradition.” He obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Music from Berklee College of Music.

Bassist Lou Pappas he has been teaching private and college level bass for over 40 years, just recently retiring from Vassar College and the SUNY New Paltz. During his broad and varied career, he was a bassist for 20 years with the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, retiring in 2006. He continues to perform with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Northern Dutchess and Woodstock Symphony Orchestras and the symphonies of Ridgefield and New Haven in Connecticut. His jazz work includes freelancing with a number of groups from Albany, Woodstock, New York City, Connecticut and New Jersey; and including performances with such jazz greats as Jay McShann, Bill Watrous, David Liebman, Paquito D’Rivera, Randy Brecker,

Claire Fischer, Chris Flory, Dennis Mackrel, Billy Cobham, Louis Bellson, vocalists Natalie Merchant, Veronica Nunn, Lucy Arnaz, Elly Wininger and many more..

Vibraphonist, composer, bassist, and producer, Bill Ware was born in East Orange, NJ. Ware is a graduate of Montclair State University, where he majored in Music Theory and Composition and soon after studied jazz at the Harlem Jazzmobile Workshop under the tutelage of Barry Harris. Bill Ware has made important inroads as a composer in both contemporary classical music, including three classical symphonies, multiple concerti, several hybrid classical/jazz projects and numerous soundtracks. Among several film scores over the years, he composed an original score for the animated German, silent film by Charlotte ‘Lotte’ Reiniger, “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” and he composed and created a new original score for “The Spanish Dancer,” a costume drama set in the Spanish Court of King Philip IV starring Pola Negri, and commissioned by Milestone Films and the Eye Film Museum, to be released on BluRay soon. He has played with Steely Dan, the Jazz Passengers, and Groove Collective, and has led dozens of bands featuring his own works. Ware has performed with Cuba Gooding, Elvis Costello, Marc Ribot, Deborah Harry, Mavis Staples, Jimmy Scott, Bob Dorough and others. As a sideman, he has appeared with Bobby Previte’s New Bump Quartet, the Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quartet, and renowned bassist and composer, Mickey Bass’ New York Powerhouse Ensemble. 

Tim Herrmann has made his living with Drums. During the last several decades, he has played with The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, The Sammy Kaye Orchestra, Steve March-Tormé, The Gaylords, and The Lawrence Welk All Stars to name a few. In addition to his performing on drums, he was, until recently, the custom drum builder at New York City’s Professional Percussion Center and The Modern Drum Shop.

Photo credits to: Mel DiGiacomo