PREVIEW: Empire Jazz Orchestra Reunites For Scholarship Fundraiser
03/26 @ Carl B. Taylor Auditorium at SUNY S.C.C.C.
For 25 years, The Empire Jazz Orchestra was a big band that was a force to be reckoned with in the area. Their repertoire spanned generations, from jazz’s humble beginnings with the likes of Jelly Roll Morton to brand new commissioned pieces. With their residency at Schenectady Community College, which provided their official home and funding, they played countless shows over the years. They are now reuniting for a fundraiser for SUNY SCCC’s music scholarship fund. In anticipation of the event, I chatted with the band's director, Dr. William Meckley.
The EJO last played a show in 2018 at Music Haven in Schenectady, a reunion at the time after disbanding in 2015. Meckley was not only the EJO’s longtime director, but also the dean of the SCCC School of Music for many years of his 34-year tenure at the school, retiring in 2015 and moving to Lexington, Kentucky, where he still resides. He will be traveling back to the area to conduct this performance.
“While I am a trombonist, I won’t be playing in this concert, just conducting. We will, however, feature music by people in the band, like Keith Pray and Dylan Cantebury.”
A concert where the repertoire will match what many have come to expect over the years: a true big band lineup consisting of saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section of upright bass and drums made up of some really talented local musicians. They will also be joined by vocalist Colleen Pratt, whom they made a record with.
“She was always singing with us and she’s just fantastic,” Meckley tells me. “The band actually made seven albums and then Colleen made an album that we accompanied her on.“
The hope of this concert is to raise funds for scholarships to make the music program more accessible for those who don’t have the means. With an impeccable national reputation as a premier, two-year music program, SCCC is a way for talented musicians who can’t go straight to the big four-year programs to save some money and potentially get scholarships that wouldn’t otherwise be available.
“It’s through the college foundation that offers some lines of scholarship,” Meckley says. “The idea is to try and raise as much money as possible, and if this is a financial success for everyone then maybe we do it again.”
The concert takes place in Schenectady Community College’s Carl B. Taylor Auditorium this Thursday, March 26 at 7pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here.