Friday Night Concert Series

About the Event

Schedule:

6:30 PM: Vivian Shanley Quartet AND Betsy Hickok and Ron Roberts Quartet at Ped Mall Stage

6:30 PM: Vivian Shanley Quartet

The Vivian Shanley Quartet is a jazz combo made up of Iowa-based performers, composers, and educators. Vivian Shanley is a DownBeat award-winning bassist from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and she is currently studying music education and bass performance with Mark Urness at Lawrence University. Ana Koch studies guitar at the University of Iowa, where she is pursuing a nursing major and has completed her music minor. Sam Ross is a saxophone student at The University of Iowa, pursuing a BM in Jazz Performance and studying with Dr. Damani Phillips. Farren Johnson is an elementary art teacher in Grinnell, and she drums with the Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra, the IWJO Sextet, and Chameleon Society

7:30 PM: Betsy Hickok and Ron Roberts Quartet

Vocalist Betsy Hickok performs sensitive and swinging interpretations of jazz standards. She has appeared in the Des Moines Metro Arts Jazz in July series, the Iowa City Jazz Festival, Noce Jazz Cabaret, and other regional venues with some of Iowa’s top musicians. Guitarist Ron Roberts is a Chicago area native who has played regularly with artists throughout central Iowa.

Ron and Betsy have performed together since 2010 and received a Special Recognition Award in 2019 from the Des Moines Community Jazz Center Hall of Fame. Ryan Smith is a woodwind specialist living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who has performed throughout the Midwest and in Brazil, Italy, Hong Kong, and China. Drew Morton, bassist and multimedia artist, is a regular musician with various groups in the area including Jack Lion, Koplant No, and Christopher’s Very Happy Band.

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