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Singers in the Gold Company, Western Michigan University's jazz vocal and instrumental ensemble, rehearse
in Dalton Hall. (James Buck | MLive)
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KALAMAZOO, MI – When Dave Colson started looking for a new director for
WMU's Gold Company, its award-winning vocal jazz group, he said several names came
up, with one at the top: Greg Jasperse.
"If you could get Greg, he would be the absolute best person to do this. But you'll never
be able to get him," Colson, director of the WMU School of Music, said he was told.
"Minutes later – literally minutes -- I picked up the phone and called him."
At the time, Jasperse, a WMU alum who was a member of Gold Company from 1990 to
1993, had a successful career in Los Angeles, performing on movie soundtracks such as
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"Salt," "Star Trek," "Star Trek 2," and "Oz, the Great and Powerful" and with bands such
as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse, as well as composing and arranging his own
work.
Jasperse has sung with everyone from the late Rosemary Clooney to Gloria Estefan and
Jon Secada. In February, he performed at the 85th Academy Awards with Adele on
Get telev
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"Skyfall." Jasperse also recently arranged, produced and music-directed "A Gallagher
Family Christmas" for William H. Macy and the cast of Showtime's "Shameless."
Much to Colson's delight, Jasperse said yes. He took over as the director of Gold
Company Aug. 20.
"I couldn't have been more thrilled and more happy," said Colson. "He really is the
perfect person in terms of his age, his experience. Greg is really the real deal -- the most
authentic kind of person for this program. ... He's considered one of the major figures in
terms of composition, arranging, performance and leading a vocal jazz ensemble. He's
got it all. That is interfaced with a marvelous personality and a marvelous way of
interacting with young people."
Jasperse said that, while his singing career had offered many opportunities, he was
ready to go deeper. Colson's call came at just the right time.
"It's exciting to sing on movie soundtracks and to sing at the Oscars. I think what I
really realized is that I need to be more substantially musically fed," said Jasperse. "I
need music to sink my teeth into."
As part of taking over Gold Company, which has won more DownBeat student
competition awards than any other college vocal group, Jasperse said he wanted to take
2 of 7
a year to let the students have some breathing space.
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Greg
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WMU's in
Gold
Company
after
succe...
He will
be the
director
three
years:
DownBeat
Hall ofhttp://www.mlive.com/entertainment/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2013...
Fame inductee Steve
Zegree left for Indiana University in 2012 (http://www.mlive.com
/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2012/05
/wmu_gold_company_jazz_students.html) and Duane Shields Davis served as
director of the program for a year. Davis will still be serving as a senior adviser, said
Jasperse. "He's just too wonderful. We can't let him go," he said.
To that end, Jasperse said the traditional show at Miller Auditorium won't be held next
February. It will just be a one-year suspension, said Jasperse.
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"It's a ton of work and it's a lot of stress," said Jasperse, who pointed out the show is
student-run, -directed and -performed. "Because of some of the changes, I just wanted
us to have a chance to get our bearings and catch our breath."
Kalamazoo audiences will be able to hear Gold Company this fall at the Sneak Preview
in Dalton Recital Hall on Oct.31 and as part of the WMUsic Showcase Spectacular Sept.
29 at 3 p.m. in Miller.
Entertainme
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This year, Gold Company will have two auditions, one each semester. And the number
of students in the group won't automatically be set at 16. Jasperse said he wanted the
freedom to cast voices and timbres that work well with one another, rather than just
plugging people in specific slots. In fact, this fall, there are 14 members rather than 16:
eight female and six male performers.
"Gold Company is not going to be like Congress. There is not this particular seat to fill,"
Jasperse said.
He said that, within the ensemble framework, he also wants to offer the students more
of an opportunity to inject their own musical influences and artistry.
"To that end, I think we're all not going to wear same dress and same suit. It will be
thematically woven together," said Jasperse. "It's another way to bring your own voice,
own personality to this experience. I said to them, 'Jazz is a living, breathing art form. It
doesn't exist without the infusion of your creativity and your personality.'"
And he said he doesn't think that's something that can be just tacked on later.
"That's a deep conviction I have," he said.
That said, Jasperse said he had a wonderful experience singing as part of Gold
Company when he was a student.
"There's a lot I wouldn't change. It's a great program," said Jasperse. "The last several
movie soundtracks I've sung at, I've looked down the row at the choir and there are
several Gold Company alums."
3 of 7
Jasperse got his start in movies in Los Angeles through a friend of his from WMU,
Jennifer Shelton-Barnes, who was part of Sixth Wave, an a cappella group Jasperse
9/22/13 6:01 AM
Greg
Jasperse
takes
helm of WMU's
Goldon
Company
after succe...
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2013...
joined
whose
members
worked
soundtracks.
Their concerts
served as de facto
industry auditions, he said.
"Everybody needs their entrance to something," he said. "I just got so lucky."
Of his experience singing at the Oscars with Adele, Jasperse said that at first, the choir
didn't know who they would be performing with. "We didn't know it was Adele. We just
knew it was singing," he said.
Once he found out, he said he thought, "Well, it's Adele. She's the most famous singer in
the world right now. We won't see her until Sunday night."
He was wrong. Adele was at rehearsals.
"The most important thing I took away from her: She sang full out every run through.
She was not going to leave anything to chance. It was the most consummately
professional thing I'd ever seen," said Jasperse. "At the same time, she was so
down-to-earth and approachable."
Jasperse said he felt like the musical ability and technical proficiency of the vocal
students at WMU has only increased since his time as a student.
"It's like jumping back into the Ferrari after being away," he said.
And he's hopeful that audiences will be appreciative of the ensemble's future direction.
"I find most audiences want to be engaged and want to be part of what's happening," he
said. "If they feel included and engaged, then they'll sign up for the journey."
Yvonne Zipp covers higher education and public policy for MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette.
Email her at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or follow her
on Twitter (https://twitter.com/yvonnezipp).
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