For incoming students the audition process for Iowa State’s Jazz Ensembles can be intimidating, but very rewarding.

Hannah Peterson, a freshman member of the Jazz II ensemble briefly recalled her audition process.

“We had to prepare our own jazz piece, improvise, and sight read in our initial audition and then if you got a call back you played with the students already in jazz band,” Peterson said.

The Iowa State Jazz I and Jazz II Ensembles will be performing four musical pieces each Wednesday night. The groups have been working on their pieces all semester. 

The Jazz I, Jazz II, and senior recognition performances will take place in the Martha-Ellen Tye Music Hall at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door priced $3 for students and $5 for adults. 

The Jazz I ensemble is considered to be the higher level group, with Jazz II directly behind, but both are very similar in performance level. Both groups work on new pieces each semester. This semester the Jazz II group will be performing four pieces.

“The last concert we had there were a lot of different pieces, but this concert we have a few more unique pieces,” Peterson said.

On top of their performances, the concert will include a senior recognition where they will acknowledge and showcase their senior members from each ensemble.

The students in the bands are very dedicated, and are involved in the programs because of their passion for music.

“Music is something I do to have fun and relax so when I go to rehearsal I am not stressed out like in all of my other classes,” Peterson said.  

For anyone with a passion for music, the jazz ensembles are a great way to get involved in the Iowa State Music Department.

“I think it is super fun,” Peterson said. “It is something that I did in high school that I loved and something that I am glad I have been able to continue in college.”