Aardvark Jazz Orchestra To Hold 35th Annual Christmas Concert in Boston

The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra (http://www.aardvarkjazz.com)will present its 35th Annual Christmas Concert on Sunday, December 16, 7:30 pm, at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston. The concert will feature full orchestra with vocalists Jerry Edwards and Grace Hughes performing fresh interpretations of holiday favorites such as “Silent Night” and “What Child Is This,” and original works by founder/music director Mark Harvey. The band will perform the premiere of Harvey’s piece Urban Meditations, inspired by Kip Tiernan’s book of the same name, and featuring her as narrator. In addition, Aardvark will release its 9th CD, No Walls/A Christmas Concert (Aardmuse label), with carols from around the world and Harvey’s piece No Walls, a tribute to Doctors Without Borders.

Aardvark is managed by Americas Musicworks (http://www.americasmusicworks.com).

Continuing the band’s 35-year tradition of donating proceeds to a worthy cause, this year’s concert will benefit Emmanuel Church and Community Works (a cooperative fundraising effort among Boston-area community service organizations).

The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra held its inaugural concert December 23, 1973, at the Church of the Covenant in Boston as a benefit for the Chelsea Fire Fund. Every year since then, the band has given a Christmas concert to support a deserving cause. Past beneficiaries have included Doctors Without Borders, American Friends Service Committee, Rosie’s Place, Pine Street Inn, Streetpeople Unlimited, and the homeless outreach programs of Emmanuel Church.

Winner of the 2000 Independent Music Awards, Aardvark performs widely in concerts spanning the jazz spectrum, from the music of Ellington and other jazz greats to original works by founder/music director Mark Harvey, to performances with film, dance, and poetry. The band has premiered more than 100 works for jazz orchestra and has released 8 CDs (Leo Records, 9Winds, other labels).

Music director Mark Harvey has recorded with George Russell (Blue Note) and Baird Hersey (Arista/Novus) and performed with Gil Evans, Claudio Roditi, Howard McGhee, Sam Rivers, and many others. He is a winner of awards from ASCAP, the National Endowment, and Meet-the-Composer-Lila Wallace/Reader’s Digest Commissioning Program. In September 2007, Harvey performed in the star-studded Festival of New Trumpet Music in New York City.

Community Works is a cooperative fundraising effort that develops support for Boston-based community service organizations, primarily through workplace giving campaigns of employers.

Kip Tiernan is founder of Rosie’s Place, the first drop-in and emergency shelter for women in the United States (established 1974) and co-founder of Health Care for the Homeless, Poor People’s United Fund, and Community Works.

Emmanuel Church is known for its social action, social services, and its arts and music programs, including more than 3 decades of classical and jazz concerts.

For information, contact Americas Musicworks at http://www.americasmusicworks.com