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Birch Creek Ambassadors Perform Cabaret-Style

Birch Creek Ambassadors

The talented advanced student jazz combo will return to the UU Fellowship, Ephraim, for a lively performance July 28 at 7 pm. Enjoy the ambiance of a casual setting with refreshments included.

The students will perform under the direction and alongside nationally-acclaimed faculty members Marty Robinson of UW-Oshkosh and Chris Madsen of Northwestern University, Evanston.  The student musicians develop technical and improvisational skills that far surpass those developed through ordinary classroom instruction.  It is sometimes hard to believe that the performers are only between 15 and 18 years of age.

Membership in The Ambassadors is attained by audition upon arrival at Birch Creek, and members represent the school’s most elite students.   The Ambassadors maintain an intense rehearsal and performance schedule for the two weeks they are at Birch Creek, sometimes rehearsing for three hours in the morning followed by an afternoon and an evening performance.

Their repertoire consists of jazz standards, and the group is generally comprised of a saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, drums, and guitar player.

Founded in 1976, its mission is to provide intensive, performance-based instruction to promising young musicians by immersing them in a professional, mentoring environment. Over the course of the summer, 200 students and 90 faculty from across the nation converge on the rural campus east of Egg Harbor, and join together in 2 concerts in the Dutton Performance Barn.

The UU Fellowship is located at 10341 Hwy. 42, Ephraim. Tickets, available at the door, are $10 for adults and students are free. For more information, call (920) 854-7559.