The Meadows Wind Ensemble showcased an array of musical talents Friday evening for their “Switch Hitting with the MWE!” concert.  

Meadows alumnus and clarinetist Jonathan Jones, wearing a red bow tie, a ruffled tux shirt and red and white scarf, entertained the audience with his bravura and swinging playing.      

Joining Jones as a soloist for the first piece on the program “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs” by Leonard Bernstein was Dr. Samuel Holland, pianist and director for the Division of Music at the Meadows School of the Arts.

Following Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, Simon Sargon’s Rap Sessions provided another composition by a traditionally classical composer writing for the jazz idiom. 

Internationally renowned pianist Dr. William Ransom showcased his skills on the piano for George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”  

Jack Delaney began teaching at Emory the same time as Dr. Ransom and asked his friend to play with the Meadows Wind Ensemble.

The next to last work on the program was a short but exhilarating and toe-tapping composition by second year master’s in conducting student Ben Easley called Jack’s Rag. 

“My conducting mentor [Delaney] expressed his musical desire to programmatically precede the Stravinsky “Ragtime” with a brief, more traditional setting of the style,” Easley said. 

“Following a rather late night of score study and rapid absorption of Scott Joplin, Joseph Lamb and Jelly Roll Morton recordings, I set out to pen a brief rag for a standard Dixieland combo of clarinet, trumpet and trombone with a rhythm section of tuba,  piano and drums.”

Alas, Stravinsky’s Ragtime was cut from Friday’s program due to Dallas Symphony Orchestra percussionist Ronald Snider being unable to rehearse as the soloist on the cimbalom with the Meadows Wind Ensemble because of the heavy rains last week. 

Finally, Ben Easley conducted the Meadows Wind Ensemble through “Blue Shades” by Frank Ticheli, Meadows alumnus and internationally known composer for band and symphonic literature. 

Overall, Friday’s concert gave a swinging selection of jazzy works and also showcased the incredible musical talents that have come from Meadows School of the Arts both past and present.