Record Five UArts Students Chosen for Top Collegiate Jazz Orchestra

The five winners were the most of any school in the history of the competition.

Congratulations to Instrumental Performance majors Henry Tirfe '18 (Saxophone), Anthony Nigro '18 (Saxophone), Andrew Connors '18 (Trumpet), Matt Salazar '18 (Trumpet), Chris Mele '18 (Trombone), and John Venezia '18 (Drumset), who have been selected for the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Jazz Orchestra (MACJO), recognized as the premier orchestra for the East Coast's finest college jazz musicians. The five winners were the most of any school in the history of the competition, which this year included much larger schools such as Fordham University, the University of Massachusetts and Temple University.

Among the saxophones, Tirfe was selected as lead tenor and Nigro as second alto; in the trumpets category, Connors was named lead and Salazar a member of the top section; Mele was chosen as lead trombone and Venezia as drumset alternate.

Chosen from nominations submitted by colleges throughout the Mid-Atlantic states, all selected UArts students are members of the "Z" Big Band, directed by School of Music Assistant Professor and alumnus Matt Gallagher MM '01 (Jazz Studies)