MSU's Top Tier Jazz Ensemble will Perform at Cleary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
October 20, 2026
 
CONTACT:
Brett Rogers
Director of Marketing
800-686-1883 x.1558
brogers@cleary.edu
 
MSU’s top-tier jazz ensemble will perform at Cleary – free concert Nov. 5
 
(HOWELL, MI) Cleary University and the Arthur Secunda Museum are proud to welcome Michigan State University’s Jazz Nonet I, the school’s top-tier, nine-piece jazz ensemble featuring the most advanced students in the Jazz Studies program through the university’s School of Music. The entire community is invited to this free concert Thursday, Nov. 5 on Cleary University’s campus in Livingston County.
 
Dr. Professor Leonard King Jr, a Detroit-born and renowned drummer, vocalist, composer and bandleader, is the evening’s special guest performer. Dr. King’s musical career spans more than six decades, beginning in Detroit where he started his own band at the age of 15. He is known for blending traditional jazz, soul and contemporary arrangements.
 
The evening begins at 6 pm with an Arthur Secunda Museum art exhibit, an opportunity to view some of this internationally renowned artist’s work and learn about Secunda and the museum, where Secunda’s largest collection of art is on display on the walls of Cleary University. A jazz musician himself, Secunda often drew inspiration from music in his artwork. The exhibition will showcase a selection of his musically inspired works.
 
The concert takes place from 7 pm to 8 pm in Cleary Commons (first building on the right as you enter the college campus in Howell, off Grand River Avenue and west of Latson Road).
 
Jazz Nonet I brings dynamic big-band energy, led by conductor Randy Napolean, associate professor of Jazz Guitar and associate director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University’s School of Music. The ensemble features bass, drums, guitar, piano, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, trumpet and trombone, performing a repertoire that spans jazz classics, contemporary works and improvisational showcases.
 
 
This is an opportunity to experience an evening of world-class live jazz in your neighborhood and the premier of Livingston Jazz Fest 2027 at Cleary University. Two more jazz concerts are scheduled in early 2027.
 
The concert is free. Donations are welcome to support the continuation of these concert series.
 
DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of this concert.
 
To reserve your seat, please visit www.cleary.edu/dte-foundation-hosts-msus-jazz-nonet-i-feat-dr-prof-leonard-king/
 
About the Arthur Secunda Museum
Arthur Secunda, an internationally acclaimed artist with roots in Michigan, traveled the world for nearly seven decades, purposefully to study a wide range of artistic techniques from the most renown talents. Through his journeys, he learned and mastered most art forms – lithographs, serigraphs, monotypes, etchings, collages, block prints, welded sculptures. He also was a distinguished printmaker and even made his own paper. Cleary University is the site of the Arthur Secunda Museum, where the largest collection of his works is exhibited. Secunda passed away in August 2022, but his legacy lives on at Cleary. Through grant funding, Cleary will honor the memory and life work of Secunda by continuing to collect, restore, maintain and most importantly, share the art of this American treasure with the entire community for many generations.
 
Self-guided tours take place Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm. To schedule a docent-guided tour, send an email to sfischer@cleary.edu.
 
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