The Jazz Band is set to play a concert in the PAC tonight, February 26, at 7pm.

The band has been rehearsing for this concert since school came back into session after winter break. They have been rehearsing songs like “Eleanor Rigby” and a swing songs like “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” according to Jeremy Whetstone, senior who plays trumpet for the jazz band. There could be some surprise songs, too, but the band has not decided yet what they want to play.

“The music is a blend of what our director thinks would be challenging to us as an ensemble, while also satisfying that appetite of our audience,” Whetstone said.

To further please the audience, the band practices every day to make sure the performances goes off without a hitch. That alone is not what makes the performance memorable though, according to Whetstone.

“We have ensemble practices every day, but besides that it takes individual practice, not only for soloists, but to ensure that each member of a section had their parts down so they can come together as a section during rehearsal,” Whetstone said.

Whetstone put himself in a position to be as prepared as possible for this concert.

“As an individual, I put in a lot of practice time each day, especially knowing I have a solo in one of the songs,” Whetstone said. “Some people would like to think it’s easy, but that’s not entirely true. There’s an element of hard work through knowledge of chord changes and form, which is something I’ve tried to work on to make this concert the best it can be. But that’s about the end of it for me because it comes down to the group as a whole working together to produce a good concert.”