Musical performance

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - A musical performance, "Earth and Sky: Percussion and Bass Clarinet Music," will take place Nov. 23 at Gettysburg College.

The 3 p.m. performance will take place in Schmucker Hall's Paul Recital Hall and will feature works by Bach, Austerlitz, Parker, Bonfa, Rosauro, Zivkovic, White, Philidor and McCutcheon. Sunderman Conservatory of Music professors Paul Austerlitz and John "Buzz" Jones will perform as well as Timothy Sestrick and Babatude Lea. The even is free and open to the public.

Austerlitz is professor of ethnomusicology and Africana Studies, combining his background in Afro-Caribbean music with jazz. He has completed composing residencies at the Yaddo and Omi artist colonies and recorded four CDs featuring original compositions. Austerlitz was the recipient of the Macoll Johnson Fellowship for Music Composition from the Rhode Island Foundation. He is the author of two books, "Merengue: Dominican Music and Dominican Identity" and "Jazz Consciousness: Music, Race, and Humanity," which was awarded the Merriam Award for Outstanding Book in Ethnomusicology and an honorable mention for the Woody Guthrie Award by the International Society for the Study of Popular Music.

Jones is a professor of music and director of Gettysburg College's Sunderman Conservatory of Music. He coordinates the theory program and teaches jazz history, counterpoint and composition. During his tenure as director of bands from 1989 to 2002, the program grew in size from 35 to 90 musicians performing more than 20 concerts annually. Moreover, the number of music majors and minors doubled while he served as department chair from 1999 to 2005. Jones is an 11-time ASCAP Standard Award winner in composition and has been the recipient of numerous commissions for wind, jazz ensemble and chamber orchestra. He founded and directs The Buzz Jones Big Band, central Pennsylvania's leading jazz orchestra. The group performed more than 200 concerts and dances, toured five European countries and produced four CDs during its 29-year history. Jones received his bachelor's degree from Lebanon Valley College, master's degree from Towson University and doctorate from Temple University.

Sestrick is an adjunct instructor of percussion and director of music and media services at Muselman Library. He appears frequently with ensembles in central Pennsylvania, including the Gettysburg Festival Orchestra, Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra and York Symphony Orchestra. He also performed with the Johnstown and Altoona Symphony Orchestras; Rochester Oratorio Society and Rochester Bach Festival; and Aspen Music Festival, where he was awarded the Charles Owen Memorial Scholarship for Most Outstanding Percussion Applicant. Sestrick has performed with groups at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Gettysburg College, Majestic Jazz Orchestra, Musica Ritma and Zorzal. His compositions and arrangements have been performed at the MENC National Conference. He leads the Contemporary World Percussion Ensemble at Gettysburg College. He earned a bachelor's of music degree in percussion performance from Nazareth College, a master's of arts degree in percussion performance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania; as well as an undergraduate degree in liberal arts and a graduate degree in library science.

Drummer Babatunde Lea has worked with Pharaoh Sanders, Van Morrison, McCoy Tyner, Leon Thomas, Joe Henderson, John Tchicai and Bobby Hutcherson. He has also made many original recordings, including "March of The Jazz Guerrillas" and "Level of Intent." As a young man, he attended a concert of African drumming and dance performed by Babatunde Olatunji and his group, Drums of Passion. Also inspired by his drummer aunt, Lea began playing professionally and by the early 1970s hit his stride in New York City and San Francisco Bay Area performing regularly. He recently moved to the Gettysburg area.

Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with approximately 2,600 students. It is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1832.

By: Justin Brower, class of 2010