Jazz Spotlight
This year, the Jazz Spotlight features special guest artist and jazz trumpeter Jack Schantz.
The concert is September 25, 2008, at 8 p.m. in Kobacker Hall. Admission is charged for this event.
Jack Schantz
Jack Schantz, a native of Orrville, Ohio, is a well known fixture on the Northeast Ohio Jazz scene. He has served as musical director of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra since 1993, as well as leading the Bop Stop Jazz Unit, an ensemble dedicated to presenting new works by its members. He is also active as an educator, serving as coordinator of jazz studies at The University of Akron, and presenting dozens of clinics and master classes at area colleges and high schools. During the ’80s, he toured the United States and Japan as featured jazz trumpet soloist with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Artie Shaw Orchestra and Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd. He has worked with dozens of jazz artists, including Wynton Marsalis, Tom Harrell, Arturo Sandoval, Joe Lovano, Bob Brookmeyer, Maria Schneider, Clare Fischer, Sammy Nestico, Bob Florence, Bill Holman, Bill Finegan, Slide Hampton, Jiggs Whigham and Billy Byers. He has also performed in the pit orchestras for touring Broadway shows including Miss Saigon, 42nd Street, Show Boat, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Sound of Music, Man of LaMancha and many others. He has also recorded dozens of television and radio jingles. In addition to his jazz activites, Schantz also performs as a member of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and the Blossom Festival Band.