Rehearsals
We are now rehearsing in term time at Southwood House, Room SH004, Avery Hill Campus. Contact us to join.
Upcoming Events
The Cotton Club, Harlem and All That Jazz
Sunday 6th April 2025 at 3pm.
Big Band Charity Concert supporting The Demelza Children’s Hospice.
Venue
David Fussey Lecture Theatre, Fussey Building, Southwood Campus, Avery Hill, SE9 2UG.
Welcome to The Cotton Club Big Band Charity Concert!
Tickets are free, but there will be a leaving collection for the local Demelza Children’s Hospice.
Get ready to be transported to the iconic Cotton Club in Harlem at the David Fussey Building on the University Avery Hill Campus for an afternoon filled with music of the great legends of the Jazz Age - Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and more.
The Cotton Club owner, a well known mobster, used the Cotton Club during Prohibition to illegally sell alcohol. This multi-media concert will celebrate the life and times of the Cotton Club era from 1923-1940.
For free admission by pre-booking, please use this Eventbrite link.
Click here for travel directions.
Previous Events
Sunday 19th May 2024: The Roaring Twenties Big Band Charity Concert
Supporting The Greenwich And Bexley Community Hospice
Held at the David Fussey Lecture Theatre, Fussey Building, Southwood Campus, Avery Hill , SE9 2UG.
This concert reflected the party mood of the time, with its overtones of ragtime, jazz, cabaret and underground clubs. The most vivid impressions of that era are flappers and dance halls, movie palaces and radio empires, and Prohibition and speakeasies. The band played music from the 20's with illustrations and images and early film clips to illustrate life in this creative decade.
Sunday 3rd December 2023: Swing Into Christmas
University Big Band gave a fun-filled program of yuletide songs with a jazzy theme. The program also featured a selection of sparkling Big Band and Swing classics - the perfect swinging start to the Christmas festivities!
The concert also included an exciting visual presentation illustrating the development of big band and jazz music over the last 100 years and how that music has influenced the lives of all of us.
In support of Demelza Hospice Care For Children.
Sunday 2nd July 2023: Informal Concert by the University of Greenwich Big Band
The University Big Band performed music of Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Sinatra, Bublé, and other great Jazz and Big Band classics. Other activities in the park on the day included Outdoor Theatre by Woolwich Tramshed performers, and craft activities for children.
Sunday 2 April 2023 at 3:00pm Easter Parade Concert
The Big Band performed music by the great composers Irving Berlin and Cole Porter - Music Made in America - with illustrations and images on their lives, songs, shows and films.
Irving Berlin was one of the greatest songwriters in American history. During his 60 year career, he wrote over 1,500 songs, including scores for 19 Broadway shows. Easter Parade is one of his songs and the title for the 1948 film.
Cole Porter was born to a wealthy family in Indiana. He defied the wishes of parents, and took up music as a profession, began to achieve success in the 1920s and by 1930s was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. Like Berlin he wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his songs. In support of Rochester Wisdom Hospice, Rochester.
Contacting us
How to join the big band
If you are interested in playing the Big Band Music Group welcomes applications from staff and students who would like to be part of the jazz experience - good music sight reading needed. We can also support students who wish to start their own band group within the university.
The Bands also accept bookings for university and private events across the region.
To find out more contact Band Manager Fred Parrett on 020-8460-2116 or e-mail: bigband@gre.ac.uk.
