The Department of Music at Missouri Western will host the 12th annual MWSU/Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival Saturday, Feb. 10, in the Fulkerson Center. School group performances will start at 7:30 a.m., with the MWSU Jazz Ensemble taking the stage at 5:45 p.m. with guest artist, New York saxophone virtuoso Jim Snidero. The festival is free and open to the public.

Each ensemble performs for the adjudicators, receiving recorded and written critiques of the performance from the clinicians. Immediately following each band’s performance the clinicians will give a 25-40 minute clinic for the band, discussing and working on specific areas of the performance. Bob Long, Missouri Western’s director of jazz studies, said the focus and commitment of this festival is to make this an educational and musical experience for students and directors alike. Clinicians for this year are Wayne Page, music educator, Waukee Iowa; Bob Harvey, professional musician and educator, Kansas City; and Dan Stecker, music educator, Pleasantville, Iowa.

This year’s guest artist, Jim Snidero has been called a “master musician” and “alto saxophone virtuoso” (Downbeat Magazine). Jim Snidero’s music encapsulates what is both unique and compelling about jazz. Be it a veteran recording artist (EMI, Milestone, Savant, etc.) or sideman (Mingus Big Band, Frank Sinatra, Eddie Palmieri, Brother Jack McDuff, among many), Snidero can truly say “been there, done that.”

Placing in both Downbeat’s reader and critic polls (latest 2017), Snidero has demonstrated his continued relevance on the international jazz scene. His 20 solo recordings include “Blue Afternoon” (Criss-Cross), listed in “The Penguin Jazz Guide: The history of the music in the 1001 best albums,” and “Strings” (Milestone/Fantasy) called a “masterpiece” by several major publications.

In addition to his performance activities, Jim Snidero is one of the most influential jazz authors in jazz education history. His best-selling Jazz Conception book series (Advance Music) have changed the way jazz is taught worldwide, being translated into four languages, and he is the founder of the Jazz Conception Company, offering multi-media products via apps.

Snidero is on the adjunct faculty at New School University and New Jersey City University, and was a visiting professor at both Princeton University and Indiana University. He endorses D’Addario and Selmer products.

For more information please contact the Music Department at 816-271-4420, or 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.