Mandell Theater
Letter from the Department
Welcome to this concert presentation by the Music Program in the Department of Performing Arts. We are delighted to have the wonderful support of great families and friends. A very special welcome goes out to our visitors from the community who may not have any affiliation to our students, and simply come to hear spectacular musical performances by these talented student musicians. We hope everyone in our audience is pleased with the musical selections; and proud of the achievement of the students involved.
The students you will hear at this performance are not music majors. They do this for their love of music and dedicate their time and energy to cultivating their passion for this art form. They are as dedicated to their studies and career pursuits as they are to this intrinsic passion they have within them. The program is fortunate to have a bounty of students with this yearning. We would not exist without them!
The Music Program and Department of Performing Arts is dedicated to providing robust opportunities in the performing arts while students are at Drexel. Our goal is to provide a positive and supportive environment for our students. It is our hope that students and audiences alike feel they are represented in the selections being performed. The human connection is most important to us all.
Thank you for attending this performance. Being here is the greatest show of support for the students, the Music Program, and the Department of Performing Arts. Thanks to the dedicated leadership of the faculty ensemble directors and staff, we are pleased to present you with the following program.
Sincerely,
Luke Abruzzo, Music Program Director Miriam Giguere, PhD, Department Head, Performing Arts
Acknowledgements
Mr. White would like to thank:
Dr. Miriam Giguere, Chair, Department of Performing Arts
Luke Abruzzo, Music Program Director, Department of Performing Arts
Hannah Burke, Department Administrator, Performing Arts
Ellie Ebby, Administrative Coordinator, Department of Performing Arts
Elisha Robinson, Graduate Assistant, Department of Performing Arts
Caroline Leipf, Mandell Theater Managing Director
Chris Totora, Production Manager and Technical Director, Mandell Theater
About the Ensemble
The Drexel Jazz Orchestra provides students with the opportunity to study and perform repertoire in the Black American jazz tradition, established by ensembles such as those of Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie. The ensemble also explores works by composers and arrangers including Gil Evans, Oliver Nelson, and Thad Jones, as well as arrangements of compositions by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk.
The Jazztet offers focused study in post-bop improvisation through performance in small ensemble settings. Repertoire emphasizes the music of Parker, Gillespie, Davis, Mingus, Coltrane, and Monk. In addition to scheduled concerts, the Jazztet participates in multiple performances on campus and in the broader community.
Program
The Drexel University Jazz Orchestra
Brent White, Director
Passion Dance ------------------------------
Composed by McCoy Tyner
Maiden Voyage ------------------------ Composed by Herbie Hancock
The Moontrane ---------------------------- Composed by Woodie Shaw
Street Singer ---------------------------------- Composed by Tina Brooks
Bolivia ---------------------------------------Composed by Cedar Walton
Jazz Orchestra Fantasy in D ------------------
Ensemble Members
Brent White
Ensemble Director
Saxophones
Alto
Carys Raber First-Year, Culinary Arts & Science
Joseph Pekala
Freshman Architectural Engineering
Tenor
Kennedy Casey*
Kevin Frank
Aleko Nicolacakis*
Colin Cover
Colin Morrissey
Tenor Saxophone, Junior Nursing
Senior Electrical Engineering
Trumpets
Junior Mechanical Engineering
Senior Electrical Engineering
Pre-Junior Electrical Engineering
Designations
*Jazztet Member
Ensemble Members
Brooke Hartley
Oliver Jakacki
Trace Cassidy*
Trombone
Pre-Junior Biological Sciences
Sophomore Music Industry
Pre-Junior Music Industry
Benjamin Cook
Dan Dowlin*
Finn Leggatt
Bass
Pre-Junior Physics
Senior Computer Science
Freshman Music Industry
Nerio Prosperi Senior Finance
Piano
Blaze Fogle
Caleb Altizer
Dylan Vasquez*
Kenneth Blake*
Pre-Junior Music Industry
Junior Music Industry
Senior Civil Engineering
Senior Computer Science
Designations
*Jazztet Member
Ensemble Members
Charlie Rohland
Marietta Natividad
Samuel Di Trolio*
Guitar
Aaron Rabinowitz*
Benjamin Elliot
Myles Fort*
Nigel Gialdo
Sophomore Exploratory Studies
Drums
Junior Accounting Senior Music Industry
Junior Electrical Engineering Junior Computer Science Freshman Political Science
Wyatt Mitchell Freshman Music Industry Freshman Music Industry
Vocalists
Daniel Attali Pre-Junior Music Industry
Rachael Peterkin
Designations
*Jazztet Member
Junior Psychology
Brent White Jazz Orchestra Director
Brent White is a lifelong Philadelphian and jazz enthusiast. Mr. White understands Philadelphia’s rich cultural community; its leaders, history, musicians, connectors, and politics. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Widener University, a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of the Arts, and a certificate in non-profit management from LaSalle University.
He has toured nationwide and internationally as a freelance trombonist to the world’s largest Jazz festivals, yet possesses the local field experience, and relationships with many of Philadelphia’s non-profits with a career focus that can be summarized in one word —Jazz.
Previously, Mr. White has worked as the Education Program Manager at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, designing and implementing outreach education programming for Philadelphia students. Mr. White has taught jazz in the Philadelphia Prison System, the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts, and in the Camden New Jersey City School system. Residencies included the Juilliard School of Music outreach Department (Bay Area Tour), where he provided jazz workshops in juvenile detention centers, children’s hospitals, and schools in the San Francisco Bay area.
Brent White Jazz Orchestra Director
As a trombonist, Mr. White has toured with the likes of John Legend (Indonesia), Kindred Family Soul (South Africa), and the Sun Ra Arkestra (Europe). Mr. White has been welcomed to the stage by Lady Alma, and has recorded in-studio for Patti Labelle. Mr. White is no stranger to the Philadelphia and New York jazz scenes where currently, he performs with Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band, Josh Lawrence and Color Theory, and the Fresh Cut Orchestra, among other ensembles. Most recently, Mr. White composed and recorded his album Broken Toy dedicated to children who suffer trauma caused by losing a parent to incarceration.
Drexel offers four different music minors:
Music: requires 26 credits, including work in Music Theory, History, private lessons, ensemble performance, and 9 credits of music electives.
Music Theory and Composition: aimed at people who are writing their own music or who would like to begin doing so. You will take courses in Music Theory, Arranging, Composition, and Digital Composition, and end with a portfolio of several completed pieces.
Music Performance: requires two years of private lesson studies with our artist faculty culminating in a recital. The Music Program will provide support for the recital venue and accompanist.
Jazz & African-American Music: includes course work in Jazz History, African-American Music, Jazz Theory, private study in Jazz performance, and ensemble work in several ensembles devoted to jazz.
Support Great Performance
Dance, Music, and Theatre are a vital, central part of the Drexel academia and student life. Donations support performing arts ensembles and programs, as well as the operation of our performing arts venues, including the Mandell Theater and URBN Annex Black Box Theater.
Drexel University Department of Performing Arts Staff
Department Head
Dr. Miriam Giguere
Program Directors Luke Abruzzo
Music
Nick Anselmo Theatre
Jennifer Morley Dance
Administrative Staff
Ellie Ebby Department Assistant
Hannah Burke Department Administrator
Caroline Leipf
Mandell Theater Managing Director
Elisha Robinson
Performing Arts Graduate Assistant
Liv Shoup
Audience Services Coordinator
Lauren Tracy
Ensemble Production Associate
Production Staff
Paul Jerue
Theatre Production Manager/Black Box Theater Technical Director
Asaki Kuruma
Costume Shop Manager
Chris Totora
Mandell Theater Technical Director
Upcoming Performing Arts Events
DREXEL UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
December 5, 2025 | 7:30 PM | Main Auditorium
END-OF-TERM THEATRE SHOWCASE - FALL
December 6, 2025 | 5:00 PM | URBN Annex Black Box Theater
December 6, 2025 | 7:00 PM | URBN Annex Black Box Theater
December 6, 2025 | 8:30 PM | URBN Annex Black Box Theater
DREXEL UNIVERSITY GOSPEL CHOIR
December 6, 2025 | 7:00 PM | Mandell Theater
ALL-COLLEGE CHOIR AND CHAMBER BRASS AND WINDS
December 6, 2025 | 7:30 PM | Main Auditorium
PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE
December 7, 2025 | 1:00 PM | Creese Lobby
UNIVERSITY CHORUS AND CHAMBER SINGERS
December 7, 2025 | 3:00 PM | Great Court in Main Building
CONCERT BAND
December 7, 2025 | 7:00 PM | Mandell Theater
Learn more about our upcoming events: drexel.edu/performingarts
