MACON – Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music jazzes up its concert season with three events featuring guest artist, percussionist “Slammin” Sammy K. The music begins with Masterworks at Noon: Twelve O’Clock Jazz this Friday, Feb. 24, at noon in Fickling Hall. Sammy K will perform with Boudleaux Allen, jazz guitar; Martha Malone, soprano; Marcus Reddick, percussion, and Monty Cole, clarinet. The concert is free and open to the public. That evening Sammy K takes the stage to perform with the Mercer Jazz Ensemble in a 7:30 p.m. concert at Fickling Hall. Dr. Monty Cole, Associate Professor of Music at Mercer, will direct the concert that is also free and open to the public. Finally on Saturday, Feb. 25, Sammy K will conduct a Saturday Jazz Clinic for area high school students beginning at 10 a.m. at the McCorkle Music Building. Admission is free of charge but advance registration is required. For more information call (478) 301-5751.
“Sammy K is one of the most exciting drum-set Artist and Clinicians in the Country,” Cole said. “Our students have been working tirelessly to prepare for this electrifying concert. The Saturday morning drum-set boot camp with Mercer’s own Dr. Marcus Reddick will offer area drummers a chance to work with two of the finest drummers in the country.”
A Grammy nominated, Los Angeles-based drummer, music educator and drum circlefacilitator, “Slammin” Sammy K has performed or recorded with an impressive array of artists including Bob Hope, The Coasters, Michael Orland of American Idol, Engelbert Humperdinck, Lucy Lawless, Burt Bacharach, Dave Brubeck, and The United States Air Force Band of Flight, to name a few. Learn more about the artist at www.slamminsammyk.com.
Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music, the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings and the Townsend-McAfee Institute for Graduate Studies offer undergraduate and graduate professional music studies in a comprehensive university environment. Townsend is nationally recognized for its outstanding faculty, award-winning students, performance ensembles and state-of-the-art facilities. The McDuffie Center, a special institute within Townsend School of Music, is a highly selective program that prepares string students for success in the real world. Students study with some of America’s most renowned string musicians, receiving music instruction of conservatory quality, while earning an academically well-rounded education from a comprehensive, nationally recognized university. For more information and a complete listing of this season’s concerts please visit music.mercer.edu or call (478) 301-5470.
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