The Department of Music and the School of Fine Arts at Missouri Western State University will hold their eighth annual Jazz Festival beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. Performances will be held in the Fulkerson Center and in the Hoff Conference Room, Blum Student Union 219. The festival will culminate with a performance at 5:45 p.m. by the Missouri Western Jazz Ensemble and Vocal Jazz Ensemble. During the concert, individual performance awards will be announced. All events are free and open to the public.

“The focus and commitment of this festival is to make this an educational and musical experience for students and directors alike,” said Bob Long, director of jazz studies.

High school jazz ensembles will perform for adjudicators and receive written critiques of their performances. Immediately following each band’s performance, clinicians will give a brief clinic for the band, discussing specific areas of the performance.

Clinicians are Jim Mair, director of jazz studies at Kansas City Kansas Community College; David Aaberg, director of jazz studies at the University of Central Missouri; Steve Molloy, trumpet instructor at Missouri Western; and Kathleen Holeman, director of Missouri Western’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble.

Students will also have the opportunity to attend clinics for their specific instruments, conducted by Missouri Western music faculty.

For more information, contact the Department of Music at 816-271-4420, or Long at long@missouriwestern.edu.

Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.