Celebrating 50 Years of Jazz Fest

This January, the University of Mary Department of Music held its 50th annual Jazz Festival, drawing acclaimed visiting artists, distinguished alumni of the university’s jazz program, and over 800 student musicians from across the state.

“The Jazz Festival is a regional institution,” said Dr. Tom Porter, Chair of Music at the University of Mary. “This year’s 50th anniversary event was a great representation of the different eras the festival has gone through and a phenomenal tribute to jazz studies at Mary.”

Ernie Boer, former Director of Bands at Mandan High School and confirmed jazz aficionado, established the festival in 1973. “He paved the way for the years to come,” said Porter. “At that time, the university had a January interim. Ernie took advantage of that and had students rehearse and plan the Jazz Festival throughout the month of January. It was a student-run program.”

Today, Dr. Brian Lydeen, ’94, stewards the festival’s legacy as the University of Mary’s eighth Director of Jazz Studies. “What sets our festival apart is our students, really,” Lydeen said. “They run the festival from the bottom up, and all these participants from local schools come and fall in love with the university because of the hospitality they’re shown here.”

In harmony with the University of Mary’s broader mission, the event prioritizes education over competition. “There are some awards and things, but what really makes this gathering special is the educational aspect,” Porter said. “Local high school music programs plan their curricula around this event.” Each year, the university’s music faculty and students welcome dozens of middle and high school jazz ensembles to campus, providing a lively forum for student musicians to showcase their gifts and interact with world-renowned guest clinicians. “Students get to come and receive one-on-one guidance from these world-class educators and performers. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime privilege,” Lydeen said. Throughout its 50-year history, the festival has attracted a who’s-who of jazz icons, including revolutionary trumpeter and composer Don Ellis, longtime Tonight Show drummer Ed Shaughnessy, and legendary clarinetist Buddy DeFranco.

This year’s festival culminated in a twoand-a-half-hour spectacular at Bismarck’s historic Belle Mehus Auditorium. Stellar performances from the university’s flagship Jazz Ensemble and UMary Vocal Jazz kicked off an evening of musical pyrotechnics, courtesy of — among others — award-winning saxophonist Kenni Holman, three-time Jazz Festival guest artists Bob Kase and Tom “Bones” Malone, and over two dozen Mary alumni. Midway through the program, Porter took the stage to announce a surprise initiative: the launch of the University of Mary’s Scott and Marylee Prebys Fund.

Scott Prebys joined Mary College’s music faculty in 1977, set on building the school’s fledgling jazz ensemble into a regional powerhouse. “It was understood that I had a vision,” Prebys said. “We wanted the best jazz program in North Dakota. My job was to get this thing going.” Over the next three decades and change, the program would flourish under his leadership, and the University of Mary Jazz Festival would flare into one of the hottest musical events in the Upper Midwest. Marylee, Prebys’ wife and “by far the musical talent in the family,” was herself a department fixture, directing piano studies at the university for over 30 years. “She was really a brilliant teacher. I had the visibility, but she was a far better teacher than I was.”

“What we’re doing with this fund is, first of all, recognizing [Scott and Marylee] and their contribution to the university,” said Porter. “We’re awarding two scholarships each spring: one in Scott’s honor and one in Marylee’s honor.” The inaugural recipients of these awards, a sophomore percussionist and a freshman pianist, will receive substantial funding toward next year’s tuition. “We’re also supporting the renovation of our Steinway D grand piano, which is the most significant instrument in our department,” Porter added. “When it comes back from the factory, it will have a plaque on it in honor of Scott and Marylee.”

Donors who contribute $1,000 or more to the Scott and Marylee Prebys Fund can sponsor one of 87 keys on the refurbished instrument. “Marylee told me she wanted Middle C,” Porter said.