OC Jazz Band set to perform live for OC students and faculty Oct. 8

The band is taking precautions during COVID-19 to keep students safe during the performance in Judd Theatre at 8 p.m.

October 7, 2020

Oklahoma Christian University has worked hard this semester to provide students with the full academic and extracurricular experience, while also taking vital steps to keep students safe. In the OC Music Program, students and faculty have worked especially hard to ensure that students will still have the opportunity to perform together even under such conditions. 

Before the Oct. 8 concert, the Music Program tested the waters with a completely virtual event in early September. Because of its success and no significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases at OC, the program decided a live concert for students and faculty could be held, but only with the help of social distancing, instrument covers and medical-grade HEPA air filters. Anyone else interested in attending the show may tune-in for the livestream at oc.edu/LIVE. 

Heath Jones, OC’s professor of music, acknowledged the importance of safety precautions when playing music together during a pandemic, but he also sees the impact that music has on his students.

“Music is like taking vitamins or exercising,” Jones said. “Music is part of your health, and we want to make sure everyone is playing and staying happy.”

The jazz band will begin their performance at 8 p.m., and they will perform approximately five charts. There will be limited entry into Judd Theatre for the performance to cooperate with social-distancing guidelines in addition to medical-grade HEPA filters designed to clean the air. OC also requires each student performing in the concert to be tested negative for COVID-19.

Garrett Minor, a drummer, looks forward to having a concert that focuses especially on the jazz band and members’ talents. 

“For past concerts, we’ve had [jazz band performances] with choral and symphonic bands,” Minor says. “This time, it’s just the jazz band playing for the whole hour.”

The Music Program is thankful to the donors from OC Friends of Music for providing the HEPA filters, a new piano lab for virtual lessons and covers for the instruments.

To learn more about the OC Jazz Band concert, visit the OC Music Program’s website or its Facebook page. For more information on the OC Friends of Music, visit the group’s Facebook page.