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Performance in Tillis Hall to feature faculty, student ensembles, and numerous guest artists

On Sunday, February 20 at 4 p.m., the UMass Amherst Department of Music and Dance will present a musical tribute to dear friend and esteemed colleague, Dr. Frederick C. Tillis (1930-2020), one of the foremost architects of the music program as it exists today. The concert, entitled Celebrating the Musical Legacy of Frederick Tillis, is free and open to the public, and will take place in the recently named Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall in the Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts at UMass Amherst. All attendees must agree to abide by the department’s protocols regarding COVID-19 (see below). The concert will be live streamed to the department’s YouTube channel.  

The February 20 program will pay tribute to Dr. Tillis through performances by numerous student ensembles, including Jazz Ensemble I, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Chamber Choir, and Graduate String Quartet, along with a number of guest artists, including Jake Epstein, Rob Faulkner, royal hartigan, Dawning Holmes, Frank Newton, Avery Sharpe, and Nikki Stoia. The concert will also feature performances by members of our faculty, most notably two of Dr. Tillis’ longtime colleagues - Jeffrey Holmes, who was hand-picked by Tillis to lead the Afro-American Music and Jazz Studies program in 1980, and current chair Salvatore Macchia, who performed with Tillis and Holmes as a member of the Tradewinds jazz ensemble. The program will include a variety of jazz, classical, and sacred works composed by Dr. Tillis, including For The Victims and Survivors of September 11th, narrated by Amilcar Shabazz, professor of history and Africana Studies in the W. E. B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies.

The impact of Dr. Tillis’ work as an educator, composer, performer, and mentor still resonates within the Department of Music and Dance today. He came to UMass in 1970, where chair Philip Bezanson charged him with establishing a new program with jazz as its focus, the pre-cursor of the current Jazz and African American Music Studies Program. Tillis brought the department to national prominence through the quality of its ensembles and faculty, which included luminaries like Horace Boyer, Max Roach, Billy Taylor, and others.

Beyond his major accomplishments as an administrator, Tillis was also a formidable saxophonist and prolific composer, talents that will be a particular focus of the February 20 event. Tillis toured internationally and recorded with students, alumni and faculty as part of the Tillis-Holmes Duo and the Tradewinds jazz ensemble. As a composer, Tillis’ work spanned both the jazz and European traditions; his work includes over 100 compositions for piano and voice, orchestra, choral pieces, chamber music, as well as those in the African-American spiritual tradition.

Prior to the performance, a free pre-concert discussion on Dr. Tillis’ life and legacy will take place in the Bromery Center lobby beginning at 2:30 p.m. The discussion will be led by department chair Salvatore Macchia, with panelists to include a number of the aforementioned performers, including Epstein, Faulkner, hartigan, and Sharpe. Dr. Tillis’ daughter, Pamela, will also show a short excerpt from a documentary she is creating about her father.

Important COVID-19 information: In accordance with current guidance from the university regarding events, all attendees must wear a face mask; those ages 5+ must also be prepared to present either (1) proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 (the original CDC vaccination record card, a copy of the card, or mobile photograph of the card) plus a matching photo ID bearing the same name; OR (2) proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test with collection date and time stamp within 72 hours of the event. For UMass faculty, students, and staff, a valid UCard is sufficient to verify full vaccination (read the full safety policy here).

Free and secure parking is available near Tillis Hall in University lot 71 off Massachusetts Avenue and lot 62 via Thatcher Way or Stockbridge Road.  Visit the Fine Arts Center website for more information or refer to the UMass interactive parking map. In the event of a cancellation due to weather, the concert will take place at 4 p.m. the following day (February 21) in Tillis Hall.