SPECIAL EVENT: Knoxville Jazz Youth Orchestra Concert 2024

Join Ijams for a fantastic, all-ages concert with the Knoxville Jazz Youth Orchestra on the Visitor Center lawn on Wednesday, May 8! This amazing, auditioned honors band of high schoolers really swings, so grab a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy some jazz classics! 

The students will be playing challenging music at an extremely high level of proficiency in various venues around the area,” says director Tom Lundberg. “The KJYO explores the repertoire of outstanding jazz ensembles as well as the music of the Great American Songbook and popular music of the past several decades.  The group offers students the opportunity to learn about and develop jazz improvisation skills.  We are pleased to be joined by guitarist Denin Slage-Koch for our IJAMS performance”.

Doors open at 5:30 pm for this performance and music will run from 6-8. No tickets are needed for this performance.

The Ijams concession area and beer garden will be open for your snack needs. NO COOLERS OR OUTSIDE ALCOHOL, PLEASE. Dogs are welcome, but must remain on leash. 

About the KJYO: 

The Knoxville Jazz Youth Orchestra is an honors band under the direction of Knoxville Jazz Orchestra lead trombonist Tom Lundberg. The band is open to high school students from across East Tennessee and is chosen by audition each fall. The 2023-2024 roster includes 20 members and six alternates from the following schools: Bearden, Berean Christian, Central, Concord Christian, Farragut, Hardin Valley, Oak Ridge, Roane County, Sevier County and West. The group gets together to rehearse for a couple hours once a week and averages about one performance per month throughout the school year. For more info see www.knoxjazz.og under educate / high school band."

About Denin Slage-Koch:

Hailed by critics as possessing “pristine playing, meticulous composing” and “a very personal voice deserving of attention,” guitarist and composer Dr. Denin Slage-Koch is among the brightest rising stars in the worlds of jazz and electric guitar. He has released three albums of original music and has performed or recorded with artists including Ryan Keberle, Carmen Bradford, Shane Endsley, Greg Tardy, Jon Hamar, Brad Goode, Clay Jenkins, and more. Slage-Koch is the newest member of the jazz faculty at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and holds degrees from the University of Northern Colorado, Eastman School of Music, and Whitworth University.