Current Concert Season

Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. Feat. “Symphony No. 4” by David Maslanka. Other music TBA.

“…everyone has a Christmas album, but this one, for sure, is distinctive, different, and delightful. And a worthy successor to Ellington and Strayhorn.” – Richard J Salvucci, “All About Jazz,” Review

“The Pan American Nutcracker Suite is an aural tour de force, an all-encompassing, immersive sound experience.” – Ken Micallef, Music Writer

Presented in the spirit of the season as part of the Yale School of Music’s Ellington Jazz Series, the Latin GRAMMY award-winning New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band and the Yale Concert Band will present two settings of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite.” The NYABABB will perform its famed “Pan American Nutcracker Suite” (co-created and arranged by Joe McCarthy and Vince Norman), a jazz/Afro-Caribbean reconceptualization of Tchaikovsky’s classic, uniting it with the beautifully diverse musical traditions of the Americas and beyond. The big band will alternate movements with the Yale Concert Band (Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director) performing the traditional classical arrangement, juxtaposing two complementary versions of this timeless masterpiece.

Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. Program TBA.

Wayne Escoffery, Music Director. Program TBA.

Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. Feat. Jennifer Jolley’s “Dust” for brass quintet and wind ensemble, Seraph Brass, guest artists.

All-female chamber group Seraph Brass was founded by trumpet soloist Mary Elizabeth Bowden with a mission to showcase the excellence of female brass players and highlight musicians from marginalized groups, both in personnel and in programming. Winners of the American Prize in Chamber Music, the group has been praised for their “beautiful sounds” (American Record Guide), “fine playing” (Gramophone), and “staggeringly high caliber of performance” (Textura). Seraph primarily performs as a quintet, with a dynamic roster drawing from America’s top brass musicians.

Other music TBA.