Calvin’s music department is now offering jazz band as a class. In past years, jazz band has been offered as a music class similar to Wind Ensemble or Campus Choir, but due to the waning interest, it was put on hiatus.

Since then, there has been an increase in student interest in jazz style music, giving rise to the creation of the student led Jazz Club. With this increased interest, the music department has decided to resurrect jazz band as an accredited course option.

“I’m really excited to be able to offer this again as something from our department where now we can have resources for scheduling things and getting involved in concerts,” said Dr. Tiffany Engle, associate professor of music who will be directing the new jazz band, “and I think it can help the band a little bit more and get out and play gigs.”

With the resurgence of jazz band as a course offering, the Jazz Club will  most likely dissolve.

“I think there’s a lot of potential and I don’t want to be the one dictating all that. I can be the one now who, in a director role, facilitates it a whole lot better than I could when it was just a student organization,” said Engle.

Though it is becoming a class, Engle does not want it to be taken over by faculty.

“It’s been a student organization for so long that I don’t want to ruin it by putting this faculty stuff on it,” she said. “I very much want it to be a collaboration. I really want student ownership in this process.”

The structure of the ensemble will be like that of a traditional big band. Though the saxophone section is pretty well filled, the class still lacks in large part a brass and a rhythm section.

“We’re kind of still in these stages of, ‘What is it going to be? What is it going to be like?’” added Engle, “[but] I think this can be the beginning of something really awesome as it can expand and grow.”

Jazz Band (MUSC 117) will rehearse on Tuesdays from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. and Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. The course counts for a half credit. It’s not too late to join. Auditions will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12. Contact Dr. Engle ([email protected]) for more information.

The jazz band’s first on-campus performance will be in the DeVos Center lobby on November 6.