On Friday, Nov. 12, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present a concert featuring the University’s Jazz Ensemble with acclaimed trumpeter and vocalist Benny Benack III as their guest soloist. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue.

The concert is open to invited guests and all members of the University community. Admission is free, all audience members must wear masks throughout the performance. University campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Please check Performance Music’s website, scranton.edu/music, within 24 hours of the recital for the most current information on audience COVID-19 mitigation measures (e.g., masking, vaccination, distancing, etc.).

The program will feature Benack soloing with the band on both voice and trumpet, and will include a variety of songs such as Bye Bye Blackbird, Choo Choo Ch’Boogie, Operator, Sway, St. Louis Blues and more.

Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga is excited for Benack’s first visit to Scranton. “I have known Benny since fall of 2009 and have truly enjoyed watching and listening to him develop into such a mature, versatile and exciting musician and entertainer,” said Boga. “I am really looking forward to having him work with our students.”

A 2014 finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition and winner of the 2011 Carmine Caruso International Trumpet Competition, Benack has already proven himself to be a rare talent as both a jazz trumpeter and vocalist. A frontman for Postmodern Jukebox, the vintage music collective famed for its old-school covers of modern pop songs, Benack in 2020 released “A Lot of Livin’ to Do,” the follow-up to his well-received 2017 debut album, “One of a Kind.” 

The third in the generational line of a legendary family of Pittsburgh jazzmen, Benack has been showcased in international headliner tours at Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai, JALC’s “NY Jazz All-Stars” (Mexico), throughout Asia and Europe, and has headlined his own group’s tours throughout the U.S. He has performed at New York City’s leading jazz venues, as well as played in the house band for NBC’s “Maya & Marty” and performed as a trumpet soloist with the Christian McBride Big Band, Ann Hampton Callaway, Josh Groban and Ben Folds.

The University of Scranton Jazz Band is a 22-member ensemble made up of students from majors spanning the curriculum. There is no music major at the University, and all enrolled Scranton students (undergraduate and graduate) are eligible for membership in the University bands, choirs and string ensembles, with neither an audition nor enrollment fee required for membership. Other programs within the department, including both large ensemble and chamber ensemble music-making opportunities, guest artist concerts, World Premiere Composition Series, the Nelhybel Collection and Scranton Brass Orchestra, closely coordinate programming with the student ensembles and offer unique opportunities for student musicians in the ensembles to hear, observe, interact and perform with numerous world-class musicians and artist-teachers.

High school juniors and seniors who are considering applying to Scranton are encouraged to contact Performance Music to arrange to sit in on a rehearsal, meet the staff, attend a concert, or tour the building.   

For further information on the concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more info on Benack, visit bennybenackjazz.com.