Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis to perform April 2 at Eisenhower

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will return to Penn State to perform “Masters of Form: From Mingus to Monk” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 2, in Eisenhower Auditorium. The band will perform classic jazz by composers including Jelly Roll Morton, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and George Russell — plus a new work by saxophonist and composer Andy Farber. 

Purchase tickets, which are $59 for an adult, $15 for a University Park student, and $39 for a person 18 and younger. A grant from the University Park Student Fee Board makes Penn State student prices possible.

With orchestra trombonist Vincent Gardner providing the music direction, the band will begin the concert by performing some of the most expertly structured pieces in the jazz canon. The band will emphasize the layering and attention to form that allowed those composers to construct such expressive and enduring music.

After intermission, the program will build upon the concept with a performance of “Usonian Structures.” It’s a new suite by Farber, one of the best big band composers and arrangers working today. The creations of architect Frank Lloyd Wright inspired the suite. Each movement is an interpretation or impression of one of Wright’s iconic designs. 

Read a Center for the Performing Arts interview with Farber.

Watch an excerpt of the orchestra performing.

The orchestra will be making its eighth appearance at Penn State. Marsalis, who has visited the university with the big band and smaller ensembles, will perform on the Eisenhower stage for the ninth time.

Artistic Viewpoints, an informal discussion moderated by State College jazz musician Rick Hirsch and featuring Farber and Gardner, will be offered one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity, so seating is available on a first-arrival basis.

In addition to the concert, Marsalis and the orchestra will be in residence for four days at Penn State. The residency, co-hosted with the Penn State School of Music, will include a variety of engagement opportunities with students and members of the community. Learn more about the residency events open to the public. 

Geisinger sponsors the concert. The Sidney and Helen S. Friedman Endowment provides support. This event is part of a season focus, “The American Experience: Through an African-American Lens.” Sandra Zaremba and Richard Brown provide support for engagement programs related to the focus.