UNCSA to present “Spontaneous Sound: A Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music”
The School of Music at UNCSA along with Mercedes-Benz of Winston-Salem presents “Spontaneous Sound,” a daylong festival celebrating improvisational music across genres at the Millennium Center in downtown Winston-Salem on Saturday, March 29. The event will showcase four live music stages, improvisation workshops, master classes in a variety of instruments and a Q&A with current and former members of the Michael Bublé Orchestra.
“Spontaneous Sound” will present a diverse lineup of performances by ensembles including local high school and middle school musicians, UNCSA’s small jazz and rock combos, the UNCSA Rational Discourse Project, the UNCSA “Early Chicago” Ensemble and an impressive lineup of guest artists and clinicians.
The event will take place beginning at noon with doors opening at 11:30 a.m. and concluding at 10 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at the Millennium Center, 101 W. Fifth St. Guests are welcome to arrive at any time throughout the day. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for non-UNCSA students with valid ID online or by calling the box office at 336-721-1945. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
UNCSA Improvised Music and Jazz Spring 2024 Mini-Fest / Photo: Wayne Reich
In its second year, the festival is the brainchild of Steve Alford, the School of Music’s jazz and contemporary department chair who came to the school in August 2023.
“With its multistage festival format, ‘Spontaneous Sound’ offers something for everyone — area students, jazz enthusiasts and downtown visitors," Alford said. "A standout moment for the community will be seeing local high school and middle school students perform in a professional setting, where guest artists will provide real-time clinics and valuable feedback for the student performers.
“‘Spontaneous Sound’ will encompass more than jazz. Audiences can experience a range of types of music such as Romani-Jazz contemporary improvised music, as well as music from the first two Chicago albums, just to name a few,” Alford added. “A featured showcase including all the guest artists will cap off what promises to be a fantastic event.”
UNCSA Improvised Music and Jazz Spring 2024 Mini-Fest / Photo: Wayne Reich
About the School of Music
The School of Music at UNCSA combines intensive individual study under artist faculty with a variety of performance opportunities, presenting more than 200 recitals, concerts and opera productions each year, including collaborations with other UNCSA arts schools and a guest artist series. In addition to its undergraduate and graduate programs, it houses one of the nation’s only four-year residential arts high school programs. The School of Music is also home to the renowned A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, a tuition-free, graduate-level professional training ground for exceptional young vocalists.
UNCSA School of Music alumni have gone on to perform with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Nero String Quartet, Giannini Brass, Camel City Jazz Orchestra, and Metropolitan and Chicago Lyric operas, among many others. Prominent alumni include: violist Richard O'Neill, member of the renowned Takács Quartet; Grammy Award-winning conductor and music director Mary-Mitchell Campbell; acclaimed tenor René Barbera; Broadway veteran T. Oliver Reid; Lachezar Kostov, associate principal cello of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; New York Philharmonic violinist Lisa Kim; violinist and Beyoncé collaborator Jessica McJunkins; Elizabeth Sobol, president and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center; jazz vocalist and composer Becca Stevens; saxophonist Eddie Barbash, formerly with the house band for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”; Nia Imani Franklin, composer and Miss America 2019; and the Dan River Girls (Fiona Burdette, cello; Ellie Burdette, double bass and voice; and Jessie Burdette, viola), among many others.
February 25, 2026