The Dakota Combo w/Tia Fuller

The Dakota Combo is an all-star ensemble of high school jazz musicians who participate in a full school year of rehearsal, clinics and performance under the leadership of Twin Cities’ bassist/educator Adam Linz, Coordinator of Jazz at MacPhail.

Students were selected through open auditions. In addition to biweekly rehearsals throughout the 2009-2010 school year, the ensemble will rehearse and perform with a nationally acclaimed guest artist at the Dakota Jazz Club in December; participate in student jams and clinics, visit area schools, and perform as part of the Jazz Thursdays concert series at MacPhail in May 2010. Other performances will be scheduled during the year. The Dakota Combo program was initiated under the leadership of Kelly Rossum, former Coordinator of Jazz at MacPhail, in fall 2006. Graduates of the Combo have gone on to attend prestigious jazz and music programs such as the Brubeck Institute, New School, New England Conservatory of Music, Berklee College of Music, Lawrence Conservatory and Juilliard. The 2008-09 Combo recorded a set of original music, which was released in July 2009.

The 2009-2010 Dakota Combo includes seven outstanding young artists:

Danny Hupp, saxophones, Minneapolis Southwest High School (junior)
Ann Buchholz, saxophones, Stillwater High School (senior)
John Cushing, trombone, Minnetonka High School (junior)
Zosha Warpeha, violin, Princeton High School (freshman)
Quentin Tschofen, piano, Lighthouse Program, Spring Lake Park (sophomore)
Caitlin Keliher, bass, Minneapolis Southwest High School (junior)
Cameron LeCrone, drums, Minnetonka High School (senior)

Tia Fuller has been living the best of both worlds for the past few years. She has a high-exposure “money” gig, playing saxophone with the Beyoncé Experience as part of Beyoncé’s all-girl backing band. Fuller is also an accomplished performer in her own right. She has released two albums under the Mack Avenue label and can be heard playing with groups like the T.S. Monk Septet, the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra, the Sean Jones Quintet and the Nancy Wilson Jazz Orchestra.

Growing up in a musical family in Colorado, Fuller started her studies early, eventually earning a Masters Degree in Jazz Pedagogy and Performance from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Her devotion to education is evident in the many lectures and master classes she gives around the country. An inveterate believer in the healing power of music, Fuller strives to connect to her audiences on this level. Her second release is titled Healing Space.

For additional information about the Dakota Combo, visit www.dakotacombo.com; www.dfje.org; and www.macphail.org

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