Shining the Spotlight on the Faculty Jazz Ensemble

On Tuesday, October 11,2011 the students and staff of Plymouth State University and Plymouth community members were invited to this year's PSU Jazz Faculty: Jazz Standard Time concert. "We are the PSU Jazz Faculty," opens Rik Pfenninger, welcoming a large audience to the Studio Theater located in the Silver Center.

This concert lasted over an hour with a set of six esteemed jazz tunes. This set list ranged from pieces such as Anthropology by Parker/ Gillespie, to Green Dolphin Street by Kaper/Washington, and a very interesting piece titled Monk's Dream by Thelonious Monk.

 Pfenninger, a Professor of music here at PSU played the tenor saxophone and flute during the night, and was the only ensemble member to switch instruments throughout. This was no solo endeavor however, as he shared the stage with performance studies instructor Don Williams on bass, adjunct instructor of jazz piano, Tom Robinson, music adjunct faculty member Jim Alba on guitar, and adjunct instructor for percussion Tim Gilmore on drums. Working together these faculty members created a magnificent sound and astonished their students.

Such events as this are crucial in the academic relationships that students can build with their teachers/mentors. Seeing a teacher up on stage demonstrating the skills that they are trying to teach only strengthens the trust that students put in their professors to receive an education. These events may even build up a greater respect for the professor and their craft. Pfenninger, Williams, Robinson, Alba, and Gilmore have all become masters of their craft, playing with such passion that the audience can't help but be enveloped in their performance and in awe of their talent. These professors were in the shoes of their students when they were in school. They looked up to their own professors, the people who demonstrated the idea that if one dedicates themselves to a passion, they can hone their skills and, maybe someday, even teach it to other eager young musicians.

"It was cool to see someone I know as a teacher in a different professional setting," remarks PSU sophomore Joey Jarvis. Jarvis was in attendance at the concert on Tuesday and is a student studying Music Education. This major obviously allows him to study under Professors such as Pfenniger, and seeing Pfenniger play was especially intriguing because Jarvis plays the tenor saxophone as well.

As previously mentioned this event attracted enough people to declare it a full house. Most of these attendees were students, like Jarvis, eager to see the skill of their teachers in a place other than the classroom. Events like these are important to attend because students sometimes forget that their professors are people too and have lives outside of the classroom. Lives, in the case of the Jazz Faculty members that are still filled with a passion for music, a passion they work to pass on to their students everyday.