Inaugural Concert

Acclaimed trumpeter Jon Faddis will perform with the New Jersey City University Alumni Jazz Big Band in “Six Decades of Jazz at NJCU,” a free concert series launched in celebration of the inauguration of Dr. Sue Henderson as the twelfth president of the University.  The free concert will be held on Friday, September 20, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m., on J. Owen Grundy Pier, Exchange Place in Jersey City.  The community is welcome.

“Six Decades of Jazz at NJCU” will feature the NJCU Alumni Jazz Big Band, which is comprised of NJCU alumni from the past six decades, under the direction of longtime faculty member Richard Lowenthal, an NJCU professor of music, dance, and theatre.  The program of classic jazz arrangements will include works by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Maynard Ferguson, and Buddy Rich.

NJCU alumni scheduled to perform include drummer Richard DeRosa ’77, who has played with Gerry Mulligan, Harry Allen, Marian McPartland, and Peter Nero; saxophone players Mark Friedman ’79, who played in the Buddy Rich Band, and Robert Magnuson ’79, who has played with Ray Charles and Johnny Mathis; trumpeters Vincent Cutro ’77, who has worked with Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton, and Horace Silver; John Pendenza ’77, who has performed with Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton, and Aretha Franklin; and Frederick Hendrix ’02 M.M., who plays with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra; and trombonist Douglas Rothauser ’79, who has worked with Natalie Cole and Frank Sinatra, Jr.  Other members of the NJCU Alumni Jazz Big Band have played with Mel Torme, Nancy Wilson, Tony Bennett, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic.

J. Owen Grundy Pier is conveniently located near public transportation and off-street parking is available for standard rates. 

The inauguration of Dr. Sue Henderson, a mathematician and educator who became the first woman to lead New Jersey City University when she assumed office in August 2012, will be held on Friday, September 20 at 10:00 a.m., in Margaret Williams Theatre of Hepburn Hall, on the University campus at 2039 Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City.  Dr. Henderson was named president after a nationwide search by the NJCU Board of Trustees.  She previously served Queens College as both chief operating officer and vice president of institutional advancement.