2024 Audition Information

***Both Music and non-Music majors attending USASK are eligible to perform within the USASK Jazz Ensemble***

If you are interested in participating in the USASK Jazz Ensemble in the 2024-25 academic year, audition information will be posted to this page as soon as it becomes available.

2023-2024 Season

Here is a list of our 2023-2024 Season USASK Jazz Ensemble performance activity:

Friday October 13, 2023, 7:30 PM: Play It Forward, location Quance Theatre and Education Lounge
Friday November 17, 2023, 7:30 PM: USASK Jazz Ensemble concert at the Bassment Jazz Club.
Saturday December 2, 2023, 7:30 PM: USASK Jazz Ensemble semester-end concert in Quance Theatre.
Sunday January 28, 2024, 7:30 PM: USASK Jazz Ensemble performs as part of Broadway Theatre’s ‘Winteruption’ festival (Venue: Broadway Theatre)
Saturday February 3, 2024, 7:30 PM: USASK Department of Music Big Band Dance, Manhattan Ballroom.
March 1-2, 2024: USASK Jazz Ensemble/Greystone Singers’ collaboration SK tour project.
Friday March 22, 2024, 7:30 PM: USASK Jazz Ensemble semester-end concert in Quance Theatre.

Videos

USASK Jazz Ensemble - Middle of Somewhere

Middle of Somewhere was composed by Paul Suchan, commissioned in loving memory of Steve Mealey. Performed by the University of Saskatchewan Jazz Ensemble directed by Dean McNeill, with guest artist Dr. Vanessa Klassen. This premiere performance took place in North Battleford, SK on March 3, 2023. Middle of Somewhere is a gospel-style clarinet feature. Many of the clarinet passages found throughout the piece are direct transcriptions of Mr. Mealey's playing transcribed from recordings.

SF Virtual Jazz Orchestra - The Waking

The Waking was composed & arranged by USASK B.Mus. (performance) & Jazz Certificate graduate Silas Friesen. This piece was commissioned and premiered by the USASK Jazz in 2020. Many of the performers in this video are alumni of the USASK Jazz Ensemble.

Sunny Side Of The Street USASK Jazz Combo

About

Under the direction of Dean McNeill, the USASK Jazz Ensemble has toured western Canada, northern USA, and Quebec, and has commissioned and premiered many new works for the contemporary large jazz ensemble idiom. This ensemble has released 6 CDs in their ‘Bumper Crop’ series and has performed in venues such as Edmonton’s acclaimed Winspear concert hall. The USASK Jazz Ensemble has performed with many acclaimed guest artists, including Jens Lindeman, Campbell Ryga and Slide Hampton.

There are positions available in this 20-piece large jazz ensemble for trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, saxes (i.e. soprano, alto tenor, bari), french horn, guitar, piano, bass, drums, and vocals. Repertoire includes a broad cross-section of traditional and contemporary jazz standards, as well as original compositions. Auditions are open to all USASK students.

For more information about the USASK Jazz Ensemble, click here.

Canada 150 / 110th USask Anniversary Commission Project

Scenes of Plains Peoples

Scenes of a Prairie Peoples is a piece commissioned by the University of Saskatchewan in 2017 to commemorate Canada’s sesquicentennial, and the 110th Anniversary of the University of Saskatchewan. This 3-movement piece is a celebration of the land, and, of the different peoples that have inhabited it.