The Universities’ premier performing ensembles, UTD Jazz Band and UTD Chamber Singers, under the direction of Kelly Durbin and Kathryn Evans, come together for a tribute to Duke Ellington.

The UTD Chamber Singers was formed in 1994 as a performing ensemble of 20-24 singers. The repertoire for the ensemble is selected from a broad range of chamber vocal literature, including both sacred and secular music spanning the Renaissance to the contemporary periods of music history and modern jazz arrangements. The ensemble performs regularly on campus, including performances at the Renaissance Faire, the Annual Holiday Sing during the Fall Semester, and in concert as a Jazz Singers Ensemble in the Spring Semester. The UTD Chamber Singers collaborates with many other ensembles on campus, including the Jazz Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble and Dance Ensemble. They also perform in the Fall and Spring Arts Festivals every semester. Past concerts have included "A Tribute to the Manhattan Transfer," "All Mozart Concert," "Swing Thing," "Birds, Beasts and Bugs," "A Victorian Christmas" and "A Celebration of Monteverdi." The UTD Chamber Singers performed to sold-out audiences last Fall in "La Boheme/Rent". Students must audition and be accepted in order to enroll in Chamber Singers. Auditions are arranged in the Spring for new students and before every long semester during the registration periods.

Kathryn Evans joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Dallas in 1994. Currently, she serves as the Associate Dean for the Arts in the School of Arts and Humanities, teaches vocal and choral music, and directs the UTD Chamber Singers. She is an accomplished recitalist and chamber musician, performing in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and in Europe. Before coming to UTD, she was the Director of the Bach Society Chamber Orchestra and Chorus in La Jolla, California and the Musical Director of the Orpheus Ensemble. She founded and directed the Washington Pro Musica and the Early Music Ensemble of San Diego. She has directed European concert tours of Switzerland, Germany, France and Italy. Ms. Evans holds Master of Arts degrees in Music and in Mathematics from the University of California at San Diego. Ms. Evans has completed tours of music for voice and guitar with fellow faculty member Dr. Enric Madriguera in Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Mexico. Ms. Evans released the CD "Voz y Guitarra" with Dr. Madriguera in October of 2003 and is the Executive Director of the Annual Texas Guitar Competition. She recently appeared as the Mother Abbess in the "Sound of Music" and directed the UTD Chamber Singers in"La Boheme/Rent" at UTD this past Fall.

The UTD Jazz Band, directed by jazz pianist Kelly Durbin, is a large jazz band of students interested in "keeping their chops up" and playing in a jazz band. The UTD Jazz Band repertoire draws from a variety of music in the jazz tradition ranging from early swing music (e.g. Count Basie, Glenn Miller) to bebop and hard bop (e.g. Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Thelonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie) to current jazz compositions and arrangements. Players are called upon to play swing, rock, funk, latin, and other styles. In addition to performing in an Arts Festival at the end of each semester, the Jazz Band also collaborates with the Chamber Singers each spring to present a thematic concert (past concerts have included tributes to swing music and Duke Ellington). The Jazz Band has performed for various University functions (e.g. parties for visiting dignitaries), and gives informal concerts around campus.

Students enrolled in the Jazz Band must provide their own instruments (the University provides drum kit, baritone sax, keyboards and amplifiers). Auditions are heard at the beginning of each semester. The Jazz Band is not limited to the traditional brass and woodwind players normally associated with jazz bands, but is open to any instrumentalist who would like to audition. Jazz improvisation skills are not required, but students are encouraged to develop these skills throughout the semester. The class rehearses twice per week, and is a 3 credit hour course. Students may repeat the course up to 3 times for elective credit towards their degree plan.

Kelly Durbin is a faculty member at The University of Texas at Dallas, where he directs the Jazz Ensemble and teaches classes in music theory, MIDI, jazz history, and jazz keyboard. He holds a Master of Music degree from The University of North Texas College of Music. Durbin has enjoyed long tenures with the Marchel Ivery Quintet, the James Gilyard Ensemble, and the Wayne Delano Quartet. He has performed at numerous jazz concerts, festivals, and workshops and given a lecture on jazz at the Dallas Museum of Art. His professional credits include work with The Woody Herman Orchestra (directed by Frank Tiberi), David "Fathead" Newman, James Clay, Cornell Dupree, Chuck Rainey, Billy Hart, Louis Hayes, Ed Soph, Lynn Seaton, Hank Crawford, Sebastian Whittaker, and Roseanne Vitro. Durbin was the music consultant and pianist for the Hollywood film "Daddy's dying, Who's got the will?" and can be heard on recordings by James Gilyard, Chuck Willis, Wayne DeLano, and Freddie Jones.