Duke Ellington Sacred Concert

October 3 update: online ticket sales will close at 5:00 PM Saturday, but tickets will be available at the door.

For the first time in Kalamazoo – and the first time in West Michigan in decades – a Duke Ellington Sacred Concert will be performed – this is going to be special!

Ellington called these concerts “the most important thing I have ever done”. They were created between 1965 and 1973 as expressions of Ellington’s faith through the fusion of jazz improvisation, big-band orchestration, gospel vocals, choral elements and spiritual themes.

Participating artists include the Western Michigan University Jazz Orchestra, led by Scott Cowan; vocal soloists Susan Anthony, Tiffany Gridiron, Asia Sings and Brandon Harris; tap dancer Jumaane Taylor; and a mass choir.

This engagement is supported by a John Stites Jazz Event Award from the John Stites Jazz Artist Organization, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) honoring the memory of John Stites and his passion for jazz music.

Co-sponsored by the Stucki Family Foundation – in loving memory of Heidi E. Stucki

Co-sponsored by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation Arcturus Fund – On behalf of Betty Upjohn Mason