NDSU Music welcomes jazz musicians James Miley and Eric Richards as guest performers and adjudicators at the annual High School Invitational Jazz Festival, Feb. 10-11. Under the direction of Kyle Mack, the Jazz Festival will feature 21 regional high school jazz ensembles that will work with the guest artists throughout the weekend and participate in a concert on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in Festival Concert Hall. The concert is free and open to the public. 

Composer and jazz pianist Miley, recipient of the prestigious International Association for Jazz Education/American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Gil Evans Fellowship in Jazz Composition, has been a featured composer at the International Jazz composers Symposium in Tampa, Fla., and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2006. His work has been commissioned by many university and high school big bands in the nation and he has appeared as guest composer at numerous festivals throughout the country.

Richards is the assistant professor of composition and jazz studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music. He is a composer/arranger, conductor, trombonist, and educator active in a variety of musical media and styles. Richards was chosen in 2006 from a select group of composers to present an original work for jazz orchestra at the inaugural International Jazz Composition Symposium at the University of South Florida. 

Additional information about the Jazz Festival can be found at www.ndsu.edu/finearts.