Oglethorpe's Jazzy Petrels expand, perform off-campus

The Jazzy Petrels, Oglethorpe's jazz ensemble, recently performed at St. James Methodist Church in Brookhaven, offering a line-up of jazz standards from Coltrane, Ellington and Gershwin, plus several Lennon/McCartney songs.

Directed by Dr. Brent Runnels, the group has seen a significant increase in instrumentalists this semester, and with that, instrumental variety.

The ensemble's growth is due in part to the migration of some instrumentalists from Oglethorpe Winds. With the Winds on a hiatus during fall semester, the music department wanted to ensure those students still had the chance to participate in an ensemble.

During the hiatus, the Winds program will be revamped, based in part on feedback from an upcoming student survey.

"We'd like to relaunch the Winds program in a way that encourages and maximizes student participation," said Dr. Runnels, Oglethorpe's director of music. "Eventually we'd like to have multiple ensembles-both classical and jazz-that will give students the opportunity to explore different musical genres."

The Jazzy Petrels include:

Alexander Oakley, alto saxophone
Rachel Bacchus, trumpet
Miles Davidson, drum set
Kinsey Degroat, vocals
Sean Handy, bongos
Ryan Holtzen, guitar
Elizabeth Kontyko, violin
Tadjudin Nathasya, alto saxophone
Alan Payne, tuba
Tre Rice, piano
Tyrell Snagg, alto saxophone
Justin Speer, soprano saxophone
Max Wagner, electric bass

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