EIU Media Relations

EIU Jazz Ensemble Alumni to Perform in Honor of Former Director

Alumni spanning 40 years of the Eastern Illinois University Jazz Ensemble are to gather on campus to perform a concert honoring former director Allan Horney.

The concert, the focal point of a weekend-long reunion, is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 18, in The Theatre, Doudna Fine Arts Center. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students; seating is open.

The alumni big band, featuring at least 35 alumni, is to perform arrangements written by Horney, as well as the songs “Vine Street Rumble” and “Moten Swing" written for the Count Basie Orchestra.

Other song selections include the standard tunes "Route 66," "Day In, Day Out" and "Poinciana" using Four Freshman vocal arrangements.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for alumni to come back to Charleston, spend time together, make music, see the new building, and celebrate Al Horney's service at Eastern," said Paul Johnston, the EIU music faculty member who is coordinating the concert.

Horney, a professor of jazz studies at EIU, plans to retire at the end of this semester. A longtime director of the EIU Jazz Ensemble, Horney has also been an arranger for the Marching Illini of the University of Illinois since 1977. He has performed with numerous big bands and solo artists and currently performs with the Eastern Brass Quintet.

The concert is part of the EIU Department of Music's Coming Home Artists Series.

For Doudna tickets and information, or to arrange accommodations for people with special needs, contact Doudna Fine Arts Patron Services (217-581-3110 or doudnatix@eiu.edu) or visit the Doudna Fine Arts Center Box Office.

The Doudna is located one block west of Ninth Street at Garfield Avenue on the EIU campus. Free parking is available in the any of the university lots found at the corner of Ninth and Garfield and immediately south of the center.

The Doudna Fine Arts Center is a division of the EIU College of Arts and Humanities. For more information, please see http://www.eiu.edu/doudna.