The Border Jazz Orchestra will be presenting a Jazz Scholarship Benefit concert on May 10th, 7:00 PM at the Atkinson Recital Hall on the NMSU Campus. 
 
The concert is “Free of Charge,” but attendees are encouraged to donate toward the Mesilla Valley Jazz and Blues Society Bob Burns/Helen Sachs Scholarship Fund.  This scholarship fund has benefited dozens of aspiring young jazz musicians since its inception. Three of the scholarship recipients will be performing with the professional ensemble.
 
The concert will feature BJO’s own Jessika Brust and her Trio “The Ivory Jazz Foxes” in Jessika’s own arrangements of WWII’s Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Christina Aguilera’s Candyman.  The concert will also feature original arrangements by Bob Leatherman, Mike Tamaro and Mike Kamuf. Doors will be open at 6:30 PM with the concert beginning at 7:00.
 

Dr. Pancho Romero, director of the ensemble will be featured on an arrangement of “A Mis Abuelos” in dedication to all those mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers past and present on the eve of Mother’s Day.
 

The Border Jazz Orchestra is a professional jazz ensemble that is comprised of the region’s finest Jazz Musicians.  Founded in 1991 by Dr. Pancho Romero, the BJO has performed with many internationally recognized jazz musicians including Chris Vadala, John Fedchock, Hilary Smith, Bobby Shew, Clay Jenkins, Dana Landry, and Pete McGuinness.  Members of the ensemble, mostly jazz educators, have toured with jazz greats: The Glen Miller Band, Woody Herman, Airmen of Note, Wayne Newton, and Elvis.  They have performed on stage with Richy Cole, Bill Watrous, Tia Fuller, The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Sandy Hacket’s “Rat Pack” along with decades of jazz performances at jazz festivals and regional concerts.

 

The ensemble performs a variety of jazz music including the classic big band arrangements of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Stan Kenton, along with more contemporary compositions and arrangements of Fred Sturm, Gordon Goodwin, Patty Darling, Alan Baylock and Pete McGuinness.
 
The ensemble is led by Pancho Romero, Professor Emeritus at New Mexico State University.  Dr. Romero, a professional jazz musician/trumpet player, has performed across the country as a guest clinician and jazz solo artist. His many international venues include Paris, Venice, Bogata, Montreal, Prague, Valencia, and Berlin.  He founded the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra and the Bison Jazz Orchestra and currently performs in the BJO, New Mexico State University Faculty Brass Quintet, Footprints Jazz Combo, Tres Amigos Brass Trio, El Paso Symphony and is Musical Director of the Mesilla Jazz and Blues Society.  He has produced four albums featuring student performers that have received international acclaim.