A jazz ensemble from Southwestern Community College school of Music Vocations in Creston, Iowa, played a performance for De Soto High School students on Friday, April 21. Students from the DHS Jazz band and freshman choir students were able to enjoy the performance, which included a variety of vocal and instrumental jazz.

Vocal music teacher Mindy Fry was impressed with the vocal jazz performances.

“It was a different type of performance that a lot of students were used to hearing, especially on the vocal side. We have a jazz band here so we know what a jazz band is, but I don’t think a lot of our students have heard vocal jazz before,” Fry said.

Freshman choir student Aspen Grieshaber enjoyed the vocal jazz performances.

“The solos sounded like actual jazz music, not like a 20 year old singing. It sounded like old classical jazz music. It was really cool,” Grieshaber said.

Grieshaber also noted the differences between typical choir music and jazz.

“With choral music you have to have tall vowels and certain things, but one of the soloists, she was completely different from a choral sound,” Grieshaber said. “You could tell she went through a lot of training. I didn’t know that jazz was that intricate.”

Fry was also impressed by the ability and “musicianship” of the jazz ensemble.

“I also liked that they were all so versatile with their musicianship. They would go from singing to playing the drums to playing the trumpet. They all could do many many things,” Fry said.

Southwestern Community College offers a two-year program which trains students exclusively in classical and jazz music. Fry believes the program would be beneficial in “teaching students a lot of instruments so they can get out and make a living.”