Dates	Location
March 7, 2024 (7:30–9 p.m.)	Kenilworth Square East, Jan Serr Studio

In celebration of Women’s History Month, UWM Jazz Night features several compositions by well-known composers Toshiko Akiyoshi and Maria Schneider along with vocal tributes to Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn. It will also include special guest Bony Benavides.

The 18-member UWM Jazz Ensemble performs music written or arranged specifically for a large jazz orchestra. The repertoire includes music from Duke Ellington and Count Basie as well as contemporary composers such as Maria Schneider, Tom Matta and Bob Mintzer.

The UWM Afro-Caribbean Jazz Orchestra was formed in the Fall of 2021 to focus on the Latin and Afro-Cuban influences in jazz. The group features a Latin percussion section and performs music of composers such as Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, Sonoro Poncena and Evan Linns.

UWM Combos are an essential part of the jazz performance experience and focus on standard jazz compositions with an emphasis on improvisation and small group performance techniques.

UJAY is UWM’s High School outreach ensemble that performs classic big band literature of past and present composers and arrangers.

About Bony Benavides

Bony Benavides is a native of Bogotá, Colombia. She started playing percussion at her school’s ensembles of Afro-Cuban and traditional Colombian music at the age of 13, under the guidance of maestros Gustavo Gonzalez and Jorge Reyes. 

She also studied with Cuban percussionist Fran Calzadilla. Once in the United States, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music with a concentration on Percussion Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where she studied with David Bayles. In May 2008, she finished her Master’s Degree in Ethnomusicology at Arizona State University. Her thesis research focused on the popularization of Gaita Music, a musical tradition of Northern Colombia. While at ASU, Ms. Benavides studied with African music scholar Mark Sunkett and percussionist Dom Moio. In addition to her work at Bembé Drum and Dance, Ms.Benavides currently teaches for Milwaukee Public Schools as a Percussion Traveling Music Teacher. She has also taught at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and Concordia University.

One of her latest passions is the tradition of Bomba from Puerto Rico. Her mentors include Cecilio Negron Jr, Julio Pabon, Beto Torrens, Rafa Maya, and Ivelisse Diaz. She was one of the featured drummers (subidora/primo player) at the Encuentro de Tambores 2023 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where she performed with the Delegation of the Diaspora under the direction of Ivelisse Diaz. 

Ms. Benavides keeps a busy schedule as a free-lance percussionist, performing regularly with groups like De La Buena, Samba Da Vida MKE, Caña Brava, The Carlos Adames Group, and Eric Jacobson Quartet, among others.