Savoy Theatre, Kasarmikatu 46–48, Helsinki
Duration 70 minutes, no intermission.
UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra with Ed Partyka:
The Summer Of Our Discontent
Conductor Ed Partyka
Fri 18th September 2020 at 7 pm // Savoy Theatre, Helsinki
Savoy Theatre, Kasarmikatu 46–48, Helsinki
Duration 70 minutes, no intermission.
The UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra will premiere new music from its Artistic Director and Chief Conductor, Ed Partyka. The compositions were created during the exceptional circumstances of spring 2020 and are specifically written to UMO’s outstanding soloists. The concert will also feature a few older Partyka’s compositions and arrangements that skillfully utilizes the big band’s expression. Partyka has a relaxed and refreshing approach on big band jazz, which makes the concert approachable. The conductor is Ed Partyka himself.
The arrangements for the concert are exceptional: tickets are sold for only 200 people, and the audience is seated in the Savoy’s auditorium for 750 people with fair safety intervals. There are only single, double and quartet ticket packages on sale, which can be purchased only at Lippu.fi online store. Audience safety at concerts >>
Trombonist, composer, arranger and conductor Ed Partyka (b. 1967) was born in the United States but removed to Europe almost 30 years ago. Today based in Austria, he acts as UMO Helsinki’s Artistic Director and Chief Conductor in 2020–2021. He has collaborated with a number of renowned European big bands, including the German hr-Bigband and NDR Bigband and worked as a guest conductor, artistic planner and arranger for the Vienna Jazz Orchestra and Zurich Jazz Orchestra. Besides leading his own group, the Ed Partyka Jazz Orchestra, Partyka has collaborated with the likes of Bob Brookmeyer, Carla Bley, Robben Ford and even the Finnish pop-rock group Sunrise Avenue. He is the department chairman of the Jazz Institute at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and teaches composition in the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Lucerne, Switzerland. Partyka is known as a first-class orchestra leader and expert on orchestral musicianship.
”Ed Partyka’s imagination and skills range far across the expectations of customary big band arrangements. Where others would write flatly, he combines with a fine sense strong rhythms, voluminous wind instruments, precise breaks and tender interludes with complex voice leading.” Werner Stiefele, Journalist
”Two most recent albums reflect a distinct musical personality and, often, his relaxed and refreshing approach to serious music.” Artsjournal.com