Barrington High School students Miles Burke and Ben Farb will premier the pieces they composed for the Jazz Ensemble at their final concert, Wednesday, May 15 at 7 p.m. 

Both students wrote for the band for their Senior Projects with mentors Scott Free and William Chilton, and have been in rehearsal with the band in preparation for this evening. 

Farb’s piece, entitled “B-Town,” is written in the style of Count Basie and embodies the riffs, form, chord structure and style of the big band era while also maintaining the classic piano stylings of the Count himself.  

“I was listening to the Basie Straight Ahead album and wanted to write something with the big sound of the 1930s,” Farb said. “I am excited that our band will be able to play it and that I will be able to play the lead trumpet part as well.” 

Burke’s piece is more contemporary and is in 3-4 time. Titled “Morning Glory,” the piece starts with a duet between tenor sax and trombone and continues with the full ensemble. The piece also features solos for tenor, alto and trombone. 

“It was great to work with Scott having had so many years at Berklee College of Music teaching composition,” Burke said. “He taught me so much about how to conceive of the music and how to combine sounds and write specifically for our band.”

Not only is this the final concert of the year, it is also the final concert for Barb Hughes, who has been a teacher at Barrington High School since 1985. 

“It’s incredible to close out my time at BHS with compositions from these two talented students,” Hughes said. “They are a joy to work with and our entire band has really enjoyed playing their work and being able to collaborate with the composer.” 

The concert is Wednesday, May 15 at 7 p.m. in the John Gray Auditorium at Barrington High School. Admission is $5.