July 11, 2014 - 5:00am
Greg Bush will head back to Vancouver Island University (VIU) in September with some brand new music for his students to play in their Jazz Studies classes.
As a Jazz Studies professor teaching trumpet, composition and arranging, Bush said it’s been a pleasure to work on his own compositions during a half-year leave assisted by the University.
Before classes start at VIU this fall, Bush will be putting the finishing touches on two suites of music written for jazz orchestra: The Vancouver Island Suite and Portrait of Five Jazz Masters.
“I’ve really enjoyed getting up every morning, writing music and playing my trumpet,” Bush said. “I’ve got to be careful not to get too used to it!”
Bush was pleased to have several pieces from his suites chosen for performance by the Toronto Jazz Orchestra in May, and also had an opportunity to perform some of his own compositions with the Arrowsmith Big Band in Courtenay in June.
The Vancouver Island Suite is influenced by the folk melodies and rhythms of the indigenous people and early settlers of Vancouver Island. References to the folk melodies and rhythms of First Nations, Italian, Spanish and Asiatic people are cleverly arranged and presented in a jazz style that is uniquely Canadian.
A Portrait of Five Jazz Masters pays tribute to five very important jazz musicians who have inspired and influenced Bush throughout his musical career: trumpeter and composer Woody Shaw; trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler; piano player and composer Bob Florence; trumpet player Warren Leuning; and bass player and composer Dave Holland.
With a goal of composing 90 minutes of music for the two suites, Bush was able to hear his music progress by playing pieces throughout the winter and spring with the Arrowsmith Big Band in Qualicum.
A professor at VIU for the past seven years, Bush is also actively involved in the Island’s jazz scene. As director for the Georgia Strait Big Band in Courtenay, he enjoys not only the music but the connection to that community.
“There’s a nice jazz scene up there,” he said. “We do all sorts of concerts and fundraisers.”
Bush expects there will be a performance of his new compositions in Nanaimo early in 2015, and in the meantime will be back in the classroom this fall teaching the finer points of jazz composition.
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Media Contact:
Shari Bishop Bowes, Communications Officer, Vancouver Island University
P:250.740.6443 C: 250.618.1535 E: Communications@viu.ca T: @viunews
Tags: In the Community
