Trombonist Mark Ferguson & Capitol Youth Jazz Orchestra Join Crane Latin Ensemble in Concert

'Mambo' Concert Features Guest Artists at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music on March 31

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The concert poster for the Crane Latin Ensemble “Mambo” concert, which will feature guest artists.

POTSDAM, NY (03/22/2012)(readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music will host a Latin-inspired concert featuring special guest trombonist Mark Ferguson and the Capital Youth Jazz Orchestra of Ottawa, joined by La Garza, the Crane Latin Ensemble.

The performance will take place on Saturday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall.

The "Mambo" concert will highlight repertory by Latin music luminaries and feature collaborative performances of Jose Madera's arrangement of "Mambo Sentimental" and "Chucho" by Paquito D'Rivera. The Crane Latin Ensemble is directed by Dr. Marsha Baxter, and trumpeter Nicolas Dyson directs the Capital Youth Jazz Orchestra.

The Crane Latin Ensemble musicians are currently participants in the documentary project "For the Love of the Mambo." The project captures the experiences of both veteran musicians who played for decades under Tito Puente and young performers of the Crane Latin Ensemble, many of whose first in-depth Latin musical experience began as undergraduate students at SUNY Potsdam. The project will weave the two story lines together to promote the education of Latin music, its culture and rich history for years to come.

The Capital Youth Jazz Orchestra was founded in Ottawa, Ontario, in January 2009 to promote the study and performance of big band music. The orchestra features talented young musicians who focus upon "classics," as well as newly commissioned works and works by Canadian composers. In June 2011, the Capital Youth Orchestra's first appearance was at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival.

This concert is free, and the public is invited to attend.

About the guest artist:

Mark Ferguson has more than 20 years of experience in the music industry, working as a pianist, trombonist, composer, arranger, producer and educator. He has performed with many of the world's great artists, including Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Gil Evans, Nelson Riddle, Dionne Warwick, Natalie Cole, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdink, Rosemary Clooney, Carol Channing, Rob McConnell & the Boss Brass, Holly Cole, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Funk Brothers of "Standing in the Shadow of Motown" fame, and the nine-member world beat band Manteca. Ferguson currently leads his own big band and tours North America with the Big Band Broadcast, starring Holly Larocque and the Mark Ferguson Orchestra.

His credits as a composer include the CBC television series "Life & Times," "Cottage Country" and "On the Road Again." Ferguson has written a film score entitled "Transformation" for the Canadian Museum of Civilization and created the music for Corel's video editing software, Lumiere. He has written musical arrangements for a wide range of groups, including the RCMP Band, the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces, the HMCS Stadacona Band and the Edmonton Armed Forces Band. Ferguson has directed the University of Ottawa Jazz Ensemble and served as a jazz clinician at high schools and universities across Canada. He is presently teaching in the jazz program at Carleton University in Ottawa.

To learn more about the long tradition of innovation at Crane, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/125years.

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution, and is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2011-12.

-www.potsdam.edu/crane-