News

William Paterson University Jazz Professor and Students to Perform and Teach in Colombia

William Paterson jazz studies professor Timothy Newman will lead a group of University jazz studies students on a two-week tour of Colombia from June 8 to 22, 2014. They will perform at festivals and teach at jazz camps in the cities of Medellin, Manizales, and Pereira.

The program is run by the Centro Colombo Americano in Medellin, Colombia. The organization is a non-profit educational and cultural organization whose mission is to promote human development through programs and services that foster the exchange of knowledge among Colombia, the United States, and other countries.

Joining Newman will be William Paterson jazz studies students Timothy Ford, drums, a junior from Leonia; Matt Tischio, tenor saxophone, a junior from Verona; Kelly Green, piano, a graduate student from Longwood, Florida; and Daseul Kim, bass, a senior from Seoul, South Korea. Newman will join the group on trombone. “This is an exciting opportunity for some of our top jazz instrumentalists to perform and apply their musical knowledge in an international setting,” says Newman.

 The group will perform music by jazz composers who have been associated with William Paterson’s acclaimed Jazz Studies Program, including the late Thad Jones, the first director of the program; the late Mulgrew Miller, who served as director of the program from 2005 until his death in 2013; and Clark Terry, the legendary jazz trumpeter and permanent artist-in-residence at the University. “We are thrilled to be able to highlight the University’s association with these great musicians by sharing their music on this trip,” Newman adds.