The Anne Arundel County Public Schools Music Office and Broadneck High School will present the U.S. Army Blues Jazz Ensemble in concert on May 2 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at Broadneck High School.
The U.S. Army Blues, part of the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” is the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Army. After informal beginnings in 1970, this 18-piece ensemble became an official element of the Army Band in 1972. Comprised of exceptional jazz musicians from across the nation, the Army Blues strives to fulfill its mission through public concerts, educational outreach, and the preservation of the tradition of America’s unique art form, jazz.
The event will mark the end of the 26-year Army career of the band’s drummer, Master Sgt. Steve Fidyk. Fidyk, an Anne Arundel County resident, is known for his touch, versatility, and musical approach. He has earned national and international acclaim as an artist, author, and columnist. Along with fulfilling his responsibilities as the drummer for the U.S. Army Blues, he currently serves on the jazz studies faculty at Temple University in Philadelphia, and as a consultant for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington Program.
Fidyk directed the South River High School Jazz Ensemble for five years, and is currently in his sixth year as the director of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) Jazz Ensemble.
In addition to the feature presentation by the Army Blues, Fidyk will perform a selection with the Broadneck High School Big Band under the direction of Matt Heist. He will also lead a selection with the CYSO Jazz Ensemble in a special side-by-side performance with the Army Blues.
The concert is free, but tickets are required. For tickets, please contact the AACPS Music Office at 410-222-5465 or by email at music@aacps.org.