The Notre Dame Jazz Band performed for students at Marist High School on Friday April 12,
2024.
“The Director of the ND Jazz Band reached out to Mrs. Dunneback, who thought it was a great
idea to have them come in. Then, Mr.Creagh and I got in contact with their director to set up the
logistics of the event,” said Marist Jazz band director, Patrick Keelan.
The University of Notre Dame has three jazz ensembles: two jazz bands and the New Orleans
Brass Band. The bands cover a wide variety of music and perform regularly on campus as well as traveling concerts.
To start off the concert, the Marist Jazz Band performed and showcased a few of their songs as
they had their spring performance on April 17 and 18.
“Our band was not only going to get to hear a great band perform [ND] but also perform in front
of the whole Marist student body! What a treat!” said Keelan.
“It was a fun way to show off the jazz band and what we do,” said Marist band member
Alexandra Leal.
During the performance at Marist, Notre Dame showcased two of their three ensembles.
The first showing was the New Orleans Brass Band. The first song performed was Ooh Poo Pah
Doo written by Jessie Hill. This song was interactive with the audience responding back with
the phrase, “Ooh Poo Pah Doo.”
“The first song was fun and upbeat. I liked that it was interactive,” said sophomore Patrick
Ready.
The other song the New Orleans Brass Band performed was Baker’s Dozen written by Ben
Ellman.
“It’s called Baker’s Dozen because there are 13 trumpets,” said member of University of Notre
Dame Band, Matt Merten.
“I particularly liked the New Orleans style band, with their ‘call and response’ style. They really
got the crowd into it!” said Keelan.
The University of Notre Dame Jazz Band I performed two songs as well.
The first song was a slow love song called, Come Rain or Shine by conductor John Ferguson.
“It was a cute song to listen to, I liked it,” said Marist sophomore Isabel Colon.
The next song performed was Who Cares? written by George and Ira Gershwin. The audience
was invested; they listened and even sang along.
“It was so great to hear a college level band perform for our student body,” said Keelan. “The
experience was great. Everything went smoothly for the event and both the Marist and ND Jazz
bands performed well.”
