{"id":26973,"date":"2024-03-30T17:11:56","date_gmt":"2024-03-31T00:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/?p=26973"},"modified":"2024-03-31T16:08:37","modified_gmt":"2024-03-31T23:08:37","slug":"gunn-jazz-bands-perform-at-new-orleans-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/26973\/showcase\/gunn-jazz-bands-perform-at-new-orleans-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Gunn jazz bands perform at New Orleans festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Feb. 28 to March 4, Gunn\u2019s jazz bands traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, to perform at the 54th Annual Loyola University Jazz Ensemble Festival. The students also received feedback from jazz professionals and toured the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gunn\u2019s jazz bands include two courses \u2014 Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble Honors \u2014 taught by Gunn Jazz Director Shawn McGinn and Gunn Band Director Todd Summers.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to McGinn, the festival was an important opportunity for his students to grow musically and experience the city in which jazz music originated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe festival is a chance to perform for an audience,\u201d he said. \u201cIn that audience, there are professional players and teachers who give you feedback on your performance to help make you a better group. New Orleans is very important to the history of jazz music in particular because the original types of jazz came together in New Orleans.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Percussionist sophomore Brandon Seow was excited when he learned that he had the opportunity to go to New Orleans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy initial reaction was coming to terms with the fact that we were actually going to New Orleans,\u201d Seow said. \u201cThe place has such a mystical vibe to it, so actually being able to go to the area where jazz started was insane.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides performing for hundreds of audience members, Gunn\u2019s jazz bands were able to tour parts of the city. To McGinn, the most exciting part of the trip was experiencing the daily culture of New Orleans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019ll hear performers playing in all the large cities in the U.S., but none playing jazz music on every corner throughout like in New Orleans,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s very special in that way. You walk down the street and there is live music surrounding you. That\u2019s the kind of world that I want to live (in).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Seow, each day in New Orleans was packed with performances and activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it was an early start every single day, so it was exhausting, but in a good way,\u201d he said. \u201cSome of the highlights, besides being able to explore a beautiful city with my friends, included playing at Loyola University, as well as attending two concerts in Preservation Hall, a very historically rich place, where we were able to listen to and watch some of the best jazz musicians in New Orleans.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While alto saxophonist sophomore Margaret Beery agrees that touring the city was rewarding, she also appreciated building stronger connections with bandmates.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite moments outside of performing were ones spent with my friends, whether that was hanging out at the hotel, eating meals or talking on the bus,\u201d she said. \u201cGenerally, just getting to know my bandmates better as people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, there were some setbacks on the travel back. According to Beery, the flight plan back to California was changed due to bad weather. The bands ultimately flew from Louisiana to Orlando, Florida, and then to Las Vegas for an overnight stay before flying home the morning of March 4, a day later than planned.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t very fun in the moment, but I think those little hardships that we had together bonded our group really well,\u201d McGinn said.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to McGinn, the most important part of the experience was gaining a new perspective both on music and the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c(Immersing) yourself in a culture of music that is different than your own is super important to do, because when you engage in the other you get a new perspective,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce you understand more than just your little bubble, you see how another way to live might feel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the jazz bands\u2019 travel delays. The jazz bands\u2019 flight from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Orlando, Florida, was delayed due to incumbent weather. The bands then flew to Las Vegas, Nevada, taking two more flights to Orange County and Oakland. Their bags, however, remained in Las Vegas and were shipped to SFO before being delivered to Gunn on March 5.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Feb. 28 to March 4, Gunn\u2019s jazz bands traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, to perform at the 54th Annual Loyola University Jazz Ensemble Festival. The students also received feedback from jazz professionals and toured the city. Gunn\u2019s jazz bands include two courses \u2014 Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble Honors \u2014 taught by Gunn Jazz…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":26974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[604490751,604490703],"tags":[604493407,604493768,604493769,604493387,604493767,101788404],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26973"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26973"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26977,"href":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26973\/revisions\/26977"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunnoracle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}