An Evening with Jazz Vibraphonist Brad Stirtz

Vibraphonist Brad Stirtz has gained a reputation as an outstanding professional mallet percussionsist, both onstage and in the studio. Stirtz’s music career has spanned the globe, with concerts in Uganda, Trinidad and throughout the U.S. He has performed or recorded with such jazz luminaries as Ed Thigpen, Patricia Barber, Jerry Goodman, Dan Haerle, Fareed Haque, Jay Clayton, Madeline Eastman, Peter Eldridge, Suzanne Pittson and John McLean. He toured with the Janice Borla Group and is featured on her CDs, “Lunar Octave” and “Agents of Change.” A native of Minden, Nebraska, Stirtz holds a Master of Music degree in percussion performance from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and a master’s degree in Theology from Concordia University Chicago. As a jazz/percussion educator, he has served on the faculties of the American Conservatory, Roosevelt University, Benedictine University, Northern Illinois University and the Janice Borla Vocal Jazz Camp. Currently, Stirtz is Director of Worship and Music at Peace Lutheran Church in Lombard, Illinois. He has been a member of the faculty at the Birch Creek Percussion Camp in Door County, Wisconsin for over 30 years, where he teaches jazz improvisation and the techniques of playing world percussion instruments. Joining Stirtz for this concert will be fellow members of the College’s highly-esteemed jazz studies program. This season’s jazz series is co-presented by Flashpoint Creative Arts, whose goal is to promote greater understanding of and participation in the art of improvisation with innovative artistic and educational experiences that draw people more deeply into the improvisatory process.