Local Specials
(2009-04-02)
John Cooper
St Paul Catholic Church and Wesley United Methodist Church will host performances of the Baecker Jazz Worship Service. The piece was commissioned by Garth and Terry Baecker of Pekin (IL). It commemorates the golden anniversary of the United Church of Christ.
The composer is John Cooper. He is the Director of Jazz Studies at Western Illinois University. The piece was written in 2007 and recorded that year by the John Cooper Jazz Orchestra. This is the first time it will be performed in Macomb.
"The special thing for me about the whole piece is that I was able to pull together elements that transcend much of the history of jazz," says Cooper. "There are movements (in the piece) that are very Kentonesque. There are some just down home, hard swinging, feel good moments as well. Each movement has its specialness for me."
Free-will donations will be accepted at the door for both of the performances. The money collected will be donated to the Loaves and Fishes food pantry in Macomb.
The performance at St Paul begins at 2:30 Sunday afternoon, April 5. The performance at Wesley United begins at 7:00 that evening. Both performances will feature an 18-piece jazz orchestra.
You can listen to more comments from Cooper and hear portions of the Baecker Jazz Worship Service by clicking on the audio button. © Copyright 2009, wium
