News Release

RICHARD DEROSA JOINS WILLIAM PATERSON JAZZ ENSEMBLE FOR JAZZ ROOM SERIES CONCERT --Concert also celebrates the establishment of the Thad Jones Archive at the University Richard DeRosa will showcase his multiple talents as composer, conductor, pianist and drummer when he joins the William Paterson University Jazz Ensemble led by David Demsey as the Winter 2001 Jazz Room Series continues on Sunday, February 25 at William Paterson University in Wayne. The concert will begin at 4 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing Arts on the campus in Wayne. Tickets are available in advance or on the day of the performance at $12 standard; $9 for senior citizens, non-William Paterson students and William Paterson faculty, staff and alumni. William Paterson students may attend free of charge. The concert will feature the arrangements and compositons of Richard DeRosa as well as some classic compositons by Thad Jones as part of the establishment of the Thad Jones Archive at the University. Jones' compositons will include "Don't Git Sassy," "It Only Happens Every Time," "Us," "Kids Are Pretty People," and a lesser-known arrangement titled "My Centennial." The multi-talented DeRosa will conduct one of his own arrangements, play drums on another, and play piano on a third. DeRosa, son of jazz education pioneer Clem DeRosa, began his musical endeavors at the age of seven as a drummer. As his musical skills increased he added the trumpet, French horn, piano, choral singing, and composition to his expanding range of talents. After college, DeRosa began performing locally and touring throughout the world with Peter Nero, Marian McPartland, Gerry Mulligan, Jackie Craine and many others. He also recorded with Gerry Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Jackie and Roy, Susannah McCorkle and Chuck Wayne. DeRosa is also active as a jazz writer. His big band arrangements have been recorded by the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra (now Vanguard Jazz Orchestra), the Second Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He has done extensive arranging for vocalist Susannah McCorkle and also served as arranger/conductor for the critically acclaimed recording project, Brassworks, with coleaders Garry Dial and Dick Oatts. DeRosa has written for commercials, film documentaries and daytime television dramas, including "Another World" and "The Guiding Light." DeRosa is head of jazz composition/arranging in William Paterson's jazz studies program. DeRosa will be the guest for "Sittin' In," an informal discussion with the artists presented before the concert. The talk begins at 3 p.m. in room 101 of Shea Center. Admission is free to all Jazz Room ticketholders. Launched in the spring of 1978, William Paterson's Jazz Room Series has earned a reputation for presenting concerts by eminent musicians in the jazz world. The series has been awarded numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and Citations of Excellence from the Council for its cultural contribution to the state. For additional information, please call William Paterson's Shea Center Box Office at 973-720-2371. William Paterson University, one of the nine state colleges and universities in New Jersey, offers 30 undergraduate and 18 graduate programs through five colleges: Arts and Communication, Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on 370 hilltop acres in Wayne, the university enrolls approximately 10,000 students and provides housing for nearly 2,300 students. The institution's 358 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars and teachers, many of whom are recipients of prestigious awards and grants from the Fulbright Program (25 scholars), the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Philosophical Society. ### 2/7/01 For Further Information, contact: Mary Beth Zeman, Director Office of Public Information 973-720-2966 Back to News Releases