Ron Carter, world-renown saxophonist and jazz educator, visits Milton this week as the year’s first Melissa Dilworth Gold Visiting Artist. Mr. Carter is a professor and the coordinator of the Jazz Studies Program at Northern Illinois University’s School of Music. Having worked as a professional musician on saxophone, clarinet, flute, and as a vocalist, Mr. Carter is foremost an educator, with accolades including Down Beat Magazine’s Jazz Educator’s Hall of Fame, the Milken National Distinguished Educator Award, and the Excellence in Teaching Award from both Southern Illinois University and the St. Louis American newspaper. Mr. Carter is also the director of the celebrated NIU Jazz Ensemble. He was quoted in NIU’s magazine Northern Nowsaying, “I love music and I love teaching, so I’m able to combine two things together that I really enjoy and make a living doing it.”
On campus Wednesday, September 24 through Friday, September 26, Mr. Carter will teach jazz classes during the day, conduct workshops in the evenings, and help students prepare for next week’s concert that will feature the music of Duke Ellington.
