8th Annual Emerging Artist Festival

Day 1 Emerging Artist Festival
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Friday, November 7, 5:00 – 8:00 pm (118 Elliot, Gallery Walk Student Showcase): VJC joins with the 118 Elliot Art Gallery to present a showcase of high school and college jazz ensembles, including Vermont Academy Trio, Emily Margaret Ensemble, Amherst College Ensemble: Agra, Northfield Mt. Hermon Honors, and PVPA Jazz, Pop + R&B Ensemble.

5:00 Vermont Academy Trio
5:30 Emily Margaret Ensemble
6:10 Amherst College Ensemble: Agra
6:50 Northfield Mt. Hermon Quintet
7:30 PVPA Jazz, Pop + R&B Ensemble

Day 2 Emerging Artist Festival feat. Ulysses Owens Jr. and Gen. Y
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Saturday, November 8, 11:00 – 5:00 PM, Student Performances & Free Clinic (4 PM) with Ulysses Owens Jr.: VJC teams up with area schools to feature additional student groups from area high schools and colleges. Daytime activities will culminate in a no-cost clinic offered by three-time Grammy Award-winning drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. to area youth and older aficionados. This year, we’re thrilled to feature student groups from Amherst College Ensemble: Petra, Putney School (tentative),VJC Youth Jazz Ensemble, UMass Ensemble 1, Northfield Quintet, UMass Ensemble 2, BUHS Madrigals, and BUHS Big Band.

Clinic Topic: Communication on the Bandstand

Owens and Generation Y will play a few tunes and then they will discuss the ways in which they communicate with each other through words and examples. How do we signal each other that we want another improvised chorus, communicate that we want to bring the energy up or down, or let the horn players know that it’s time to join in for background figures? Owens and Generation Y have worked together to develop their personalized communication and they look forward to sharing their knowledge with us!

Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 pm Headliner Concert Ulysses Owens Jr. & Generation Y Ensemble: Three-time Grammy Award-winning drummer, composer, and bandleader Ulysses Owens Jr. is a drummer who “take[s] a back seat to no one,” and “a musician who balances excitement gracefully and shines with innovation” (New York Times). He is one of the most dynamic and multifaceted artists of his generation. As a multifaceted artist, Owens is equally at home behind the drum set, directing large ensembles, authoring acclaimed educational books, and building community through the arts.

Saturday, November 8, 7:30 PM Concert with Ulysses Owens Jr. & Generation Y Band:
Three-time Grammy Award-winning drummer, composer, and bandleader Ulysses Owens Jr. is a drummer who “take[s] a back seat to no one,” and “a musician who balances excitement gracefully and shines with innovation” (New York Times). As a multifaceted artist, Owens is equally at home behind the drum set, directing large ensembles, authoring acclaimed educational books, and building community through the arts.

Owens has appeared on multiple Grammy Award-winning recordings with Kurt Elling and the Christian McBride Big Band, and received his third Grammy in 2023 for his work with Steven Feifke, Bijon Watson, and the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra. As a bandleader, his acclaimed albums Songs of Freedom, Soul Conversations, and A New Beat have received honors from Rolling Stone, DownBeat, and Jazziz, with A New Beat topping the JazzWeek charts for eight weeks in 2024.

He is the founder and drummer of the Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band (named DownBeat’s 2022 Rising Star Big Band) and Generation Y, a group of emerging artists who recently toured globally and gained viral attention for their Nirvana cover “Heart-Shaped Box,” reaching over five million views.

A respected educator, Owens serves on the jazz faculty at The Juilliard School and is the inaugural jazz drum instructor for Drumeo’s global platform. He has published three books on jazz drumming and career development, and regularly contributes to DownBeat, JazzTimes, and The New York Times. He is also the Artistic Director of “Don’t Miss a Beat,” a nonprofit organization using the arts to empower youth in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida.

For this performance, Owens leads his Generation Y ensemble. Like the legendary drummer Art Blakey, Owens pays close attention to the leading young artists of our time and asks them to join his powerful ensemble. For this performance, he will be joined by Anthony Hervey on trumpet (performed at VJC with Endea Owens), Erena Terakubo on alto saxophone (Mingus Big Band, Kenny Barron Quartet), Liya Grigoryan on piano (Thelonious Monk Competition finalist) and Guillermo Lopez on bass (first prize winner of the Scott LaFaro Prize at the 2025 International Society of Bassists).

Date: November 7-8, 2025

Venue:
Vermont Jazz Center
72 Cotton Mill Hill #222
Brattleboro, VT 05301

Cost:
Friday and Saturday Daytime Events: Free
Saturday Evening Concert: $25+ (Sliding Scale)

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For more info https://vtjazz.org/calendar/day-1-emerging-artist-festival/.