Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble to Present Commencement Concert

Season-ending collaboration will take place on Sunday, May 11, at The College of Wooster

Tito Carrillo will join the Wooster Symphony Orchestra and The College of Wooster Jazz Ensemble for the annual Commencement Concert on May 11.

WOOSTER, Ohio - The Wooster Symphony Orchestra and The College of Wooster Jazz Ensemble, both under the direction of Jeffrey Lindberg, will close out the 2007-2008 season with a combined performance at the annual Commencement Concert on Sunday, May 11, at 8:15 p.m. in McGaw Chapel (340 E. University St.). Guest trumpeter Tito Carrillo will be featured in the program, which includes Ellington's Tone Parallel to Harlem, Respighi's Pines of Rome, and the Adagio movement from Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez (as arranged by Gil Evans) from Miles Davis' album, Sketches of Spain.

Carrillo is a member of the faculty at the University of Illinois and a fixture in the Chicago jazz and Latin music scenes. The list of artists he has performed, recorded, and toured with include Willie Pickens, Bobby Broom, Patricia Barber, and Kurt Elling. He has also collaborated with such big bands as the Woody Herman Orchestra, Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, and Smithsonian Masterworks Orchestra. In addition, he has worked with jazz greats Toshiko Akiyoshi, Louis Hayes, Jon Faddis, and Vincent Herring; Salsa legends Andy Montañez, Tony Vega, and Cheo Feliciano; Latin jazz giants Tito Puente and Paquito D'Rivera; and pop icons Quincy Jones and Phil Collins. As an educator, Carrillo has served on the faculties of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and Northwestern University prior to his appointment at Illinois. He has also brought his talents as an educator and performer to Chicago's inner-city high schools through the Ravinia Festival's community outreach program, the Ravinia Jazz Mentors.

Lindberg, professor of music at Wooster since 1986 and conductor of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra since 1978, has distinguished himself as a master of both the American jazz orchestra and the European symphony orchestra. His annual six-concert series package, which features the Wooster Symphony Orchestra and The College of Wooster Jazz Ensemble, is unrivaled by any community its size in the country. Likewise, his annual Wooster Symphony Orchestra youth concert helps elementary students appreciate classical music while encouraging them to consider participating in their school's music program.

Tickets for the Commencement Concert are $5 and can be purchased at Maurer's Pharmacy (1827 Cleveland Rd.), The Wooster Book Company (205 W. Liberty St.), and both Wooster Buehler's locations (Milltown - 3540 Burbank Rd./Towne Market - 336 N. Market St.). Tickets are also available on campus at Lowry Center's Wilson Bookstore (1189 Beall Ave.) or at the door on the evening of the concert. Additional information is available by phone (330-263-2419) or e-mail (dswartz@wooster.edu).