The program will feature the music they will play in Cuba, including some Big Band favorites, a tribute to cartoon music, "Night and Day" and many more. Germán Gutierrez and wife Sylvia will sing some traditional Cuban songs and Gary Whitman (clarinet) will play "Tico-Tico." Curt Wilson, Joey Carter and Scott Sidway will direct the music.
In addition to approximately 26 students and School of Music participants, the trip has been made available to additional guests, including members of the Chicago and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras, parents, TCU faculty and other interested parties.
The group will depart on Wednesday morning (Dec. 14) from DFW to Miami on American Airlines, returning on Monday, Dec. 20 for a total of six days/five nights. The trip is being sponsored through Harmony International and travelers have full clearance from the U.S. State Department.
TCU will be the only performing group from the United States at this festival attended by musicians from South America and Europe. The TCU Jazz group will perform two to three additional concerts in Havana, including a performance and master classes at the Havana National School of Music.
“This is an exciting and rare opportunity for the TCU,” says Wilson. The band hopes to use the trip as a chance to learn about Cuban music because of its influence on jazz in the 1940s and 1950s.