Gala Concerts and Homecoming Play Our Town

Jens Lindemann

Jens Lindemann

Jens Lindemann is a world-class musician, who has played everywhere from the Great Wall of China to Carnegie Hall in NY to Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Renowned for his immense talent and skill with the trumpet, Lindemann is a standout brass musician with a remarkable resume. Jens studied at Juilliard School of Music and has performed with the Canadian Brass for five years. He’s received a slew of different awards over the course of his career, including a Grammy nomination and being named International Brass Personality of the Year by Brass Herald.

Currently a professor with high distinction at UCLA, Lindemann has also been a Distinguished Visiting Artist at Shenandoah Conservatory at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. He has taught at Baniff Centre in Alberta, Canada and received an honorary doctorate from McMaster University.

Lindemann will be sharing his exceptional talents and musical knowhow during Homecoming weekend when he offers Master’s classes to students from around the country. Middle school students, university-level students and Band Directors alike will have a remarkable opportunity to work with this brilliant musician an in intimate setting.

Lindemann will also be featured in the two Gala Concerts, October 19th and 20th at 7:30 p.m., where he’ll be joined by other notable artists including Wycliffe Gordon and the Fountain City Brass Band. For your chance to see Lindemann, a man who has performed for the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, won a Juno award and a received the Echo Klassi Award, you can book your tickets now. Don’t pass up this fantastic opportunity, general admission tickets are only $10!

Arliss Howard

Arliss Howard

Arliss Howard is an internationally-known actor, with a list of film credits a yard long. Currently, in residence, Howard is working with Graceland students and Theatre Professor Tracy Salter on a regular basis. Homecoming weekend, Howard will offer students Master level classes, giving students a rare chance to work closely with this highly experienced actor, writer and director. Howard has been a prodigious actor since the early 1980s, working in television and on Broadway, but primarily in movies. His credits include Big Bad Love (co-starring his wife, actress Debra Winger), Men Don’t Leave, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Plain Clothes and the 2011 production, Moneyball.

Howard grew up in Independence, MO and graduated from Truman High School. Howard and Winger have appeared together in several productions at the American Repertory Theatre (ART) in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA.

The Homecoming play Our Town is being directed by Howard, and he stars in the production. Our Town has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and addresses topics like daily life, love, and death in small town New Hampshire in the early 1900’s. The play will be performed October 19th & 20th at 7:30 p.m. and October 21st at 2:00 p.m. in the remarkable new JR Black Box Theatre. Tickets are $5 and can be booked now. Call to order your tickets and see Graceland students and Lamoni community members work under the esteem direction of Howard!

Wycliffe Gordon

Wycliffe Gordon

Gordon is an internationally-known jazz trombonist .His resume includes everything from re-orchestrating the theme song to NPR’s All Things Considered to winning the Jazz Journalists Association’s Trombonist of the Year Award seven times. He performed at the 2000 Grammy Awards with Wynton Marsalis and the LCJ and been featured on the cover of the Brass Herald magazine.

Gordon's talents are ranging, with experience as a composer, conductor and arranger. Gordon is also a renowned music educator and has taught everywhere from Julliard School of Music to Michigan State University. Gordon currently works with the Manhattan School of Music in the Jazz Arts Program. Gordon has also received an honorary doctorate by the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

Gordon will join acclaimed trumpeter Jens Lindemann and the Fountain City Brass Band for Gala Concert #1, a performance that is sure to make the walls of the new Shaw Family Auditorium echo with truly remarkable jazz music. In Gala Concert #2, these artists will also be joined by the talents of Shannon Gaye and Kristian Alexandrov for an intimate and unforgettable performance. Tickets for both of these events are $10 general admission, $5 students. Book your tickets now to experience the musical talents of Gordon and others for yourself!

Fountain City Brass Band

Fountain City Brass Band

Hailing from Kansas City, the Fountain City Brass Band has been playing everything from opera to modern brass compositions for over a decade. The group is made up of 30 top-notch musicians and has won four U.S. Open Brass Band Championships and four North American Brass Band Championships. The band was also the first American band to ever win a major brass band competition on UK soil, in the 2009 Scottish Open Brass Band Championships. The Fountain City Band has enlisted a number of remarkable brass soloist and clinicians to its ranks throughout the years, including Jens Lindemann. The Fountain City Brass Band has played with prestigious ensembles from around the country, including the New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, Empire Brass and more. The band has even performed at New York City Broadway productions, including The Phantom of the Opera.

The Fountain City Brass Band will reunite with Lindemann and Wycliffe Gordon during both Gala Concert #1 and #2 on October 19th and 20th, for what’s sure to be a soulful night of world-class jazz music. To see the Fountain City Brass Band for yourself, book your tickets to Gala Concert #1 and #2 today; general admission is $10, $5 for students.

Shannon Gaye

Shannon Gaye

Hailing from British Columbia, Canada, Shannon Gaye is a powerful vocalist, percussionist and writer who has completed 15 cross-Canada tours. With a remarkable vocal range that is sure to send chills throughout the Shaw Auditorium, Shannon has a soulful and compelling voice, and she specializes in Jazz and R&B music. Known for improvisation and electric spirit, Gaye’s music has been featured in films and TV series in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.

Gaye’s musical talents will be featured in the intimate, first half of Gala Concert #2 alongside the jazz talents of Jens Lindemann, Wycliffe Gordon and Kristian Alexandrov. When the Fountain City Brass Band joins the concert for the second half, these collective musicians are sure to leave a lasting impression. Book your tickets now to hear Gaye’s powerful vocalizations for yourself; general admission tickets are $10, student tickets $5.

Kristian Alexandrov

Born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria, Kristian Alexandrov will bring musical inspirations from around the world to Lamoni this Homecoming weekend. With a strong foundation in jazz, Alexandrov has taken musical inspiration from everything from Bulgarian folk music to Afro-Cuban and Contemporary Jazz.

Alexandrov relocated to Canada in 1995, and since then has been a prestigious name in the country, working as an acclaimed pianist, percussionist, composer and producer. His talents have been widely celebrated in Canada, winning the 2008 Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Best Pianist. In 2010, Alexandrov performed in the orchestra for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

Alexandrov will be featured in the intimate, first half of Gala Concert #2. Alexandrov has previous experience working with Lindemann, Gordon and Gaye and is sure to have chemistry with this remarkable group of artists. Book your tickets to see the diverse cultural talents of Alexandrov, and others in Gala Concert #2, today. General admission is $10, $5 for students.