The 25th annual Longwood Honors Jazz Ensemble and the 29th annual Honors Concert Band performances will be held on Friday, Jan. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in Jarman Auditorium on the Longwood University campus.

Over 130 outstanding musicians representing 12 area high schools will combine to form these ensembles under the direction of Longwood University Department of Music faculty members Dr. Charles Kinzer and Dr. Kevin Callihan.

A tradition of the Honors Bands has been to include performances by guest soloists and conductors with the groups. This year’s soloist with both the jazz and concert bands will be Professor Bradley Kerns, associate professor of Trombone at the University of Kentucky. Kerns has performed on multiple occasions at the Eastern Trombone Workshop, the International Trombone Festival, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Great American Brass Band Festival, the Jazz Education Network Conference, the Moscow Brass Days, the Brazilian Trombone Association Conference, the state education conferences of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio, the Art College of Inner Mongolia, and the DIA T Festival in Recife, Brazil.

Area schools and directors who will be participating include Altavista High School (HS), Mario Ruiz; Amelia County HS, Ryan Stahl; Appomattox County HS, Bryan Allgood; Fuqua School, Tyler Gage; Goochland County HS, Mark Givens; Lunenburg Central HS, Maurice Ellis; Nottoway County HS, Katherine Lusk; Petersburg HS, Clyde Boswell; Powhatan County HS; Nicholas Snead; Prince Edward County HS, Tiarrah Crouch; Randolph-Henry HS, Kevin Reamey; and William Campbell HS, Allison Shelton.

Admission to the concert is free and the public is welcome to hear these fine high school musicians.