BRATTLEBORO — On Saturday, July 25, at 7:30 p.m., Open Music Collective's (OMC) Summer Jazz Intensive will be celebrating its sixth year with a concert and reception at The Hooker-Dunham Theater on Main Street in Brattleboro, featuring special guests Mitch Seidman on guitar and Dr. Catherine Jensen-Hole on vocals.
Also on the program will be Claire Arenius on drums, Carl Clements on woodwinds, and Jamie MacDonald on bass.
Jensen-Hole is an active performer, composer, teacher, adjudicator (someone who gives a critical evaluation of performances in competitions, festivals or talent shows) and clinician residing in Belchertown, Mass. She is currently director of Vocal Jazz at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and also teaches the undergraduate arranging curriculum.
With her own groups, she has performed in Australia, Great Britain, Indonesia, and the United States. She is a recipient of DownBeat awards as a vocalist and for direction of the UMass Vocal Jazz Ensemble. She has presented at various conferences and jazz festivals in the Northwest and Northeast.
Seidman was initially inspired by a Kenny Burrell record to pursue jazz guitar, and then by the late Attila Zoller through study and a close friendship that began in 1974. A professional musician and music educator for more than 40 years, he has performed at festivals, nightclubs, judged performances, and presented clinics throughout the U.S., as well in France, Germany, and Costa Rica, where he was also an artist-in-residence.
He has led recordings on Jardis, Cadence, Kyran Music, and Brownstone Records. Seidman is a professor of ear training at Berklee College of Music, was a contributing editor to 20th Century Guitar Magazine, and co-authored the book Playing the Changes: Guitar, published by Berklee Press/Hal Leonard.
During the summer intensive, students get to work intimately with teachers in ensemble, improvisation, instrument master class and impromptu-style jazz jams. Everyone has a chance to immerse themselves for a few days into music and abilities, interests, and musical backgrounds that range across the spectrum.
This year, the student concert will be on Sunday, July 26, at 1 p.m., also at the Hooker-Dunham Theater, and features three student groups.