Holland College’s newly-formed SoPA All-City Jazz Band will perform on stage for the first time in the Florence Simmons Performance Hall on Sunday, June 2 at 2 p.m. The band will be joined  by the Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble for a concert that will showcase the talents of both groups.

Established in February 2019, The Holland College SoPA All-City Jazz Band was formed as an outreach program sponsored by the college to promote excellence in music and act as a bridging ensemble to the School of Performing Arts. The group is comprised of some of the finest high school jazz musicians in the province. Students were selected based on recommendations from their high school teachers and on their musical merit.

Mark Parsons, director of the ensemble and a brass instructor for SoPA, said the group gives talented young musicians an opportunity to learn new skills and to enhance their repertoire.

“The ensemble provides these young musicians an opportunity to work together in an enriched environment. The students have practiced a wide range of repertoire, including Jazz standards, Swing, Latin, Funk and Rock, giving them the opportunity to explore those genres in greater depth than they would in a high school band,” he said.

The Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble will join the students for the concert. The group has been presenting an eclectic mix of traditional standards and contemporary jazz since it was founded 24 years ago. The band boasts many of PEI’s busiest musicians, ranging from promising students to seasoned professionals under the direction of seasoned jazz musician Doug Millington.

The Holland College School of Performing Arts is a partnership with Confederation Centre of the Arts. Tickets to the concert are $10 and will be available at the box office of the Florence Simmons Performance Hall, on the Prince of Wales Campus, 140 Weymouth Street on the afternoon of the show. For more information about the School of Performing Arts, visit hollandcollege.com.

In this picture: Students in the SoPA All-City Jazz Band preparing for their first ever concert in the SoPA Garage on Holland College’s Prince of Wales Campus.