Jazz: Spirituals,
Prayer and Protest

Jazz: Spirituals, Prayer and Protest 
Sunday, Jan. 15, 3 p.m.
Fairchild Theatre
542 Auditorium Road, East Lansing

Each year, MSU hosts a jazz concert to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth. Jazz Orchestra I typically plays the event, but the group will be in New York City competing at the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship at Lincoln Center, which the College of Music won in 2022. Jazz Orchestra II, under the direction of conductor Anthony Stanco, is excited to fill in this year.

“It’s usually one of our most well attended concerts, and it’s gonna give a lot of the students more exposure and the chance to play a little bit more,” Stanco said. 

The performance will feature trumpet soloist Kris Johnson and two pieces each from vocalists Ludgarde Fall, Tiffany Toriumi and Rockelle Whitaker. In addition to an original program from Fall, the vocalists will pay homage to the music of legendary Black jazz artists Duke Ellington, Nina Simone, Booker Little, Curtis Mayfield and Donny Hathaway.

Tickets are free and can be purchased on etix.com, at the College of Music main office (333 W. Circle Drive, East Lansing) or by calling 517-353-5340.