Carl Atkins to perform at Keuka College

Carl Atkins, professor and chair of the music program and professor of fine arts at RIT, will speak and perform at Keuka College Monday, Feb. 27.Atkins will speak at 4:15 p.m. in the Brezinsky Room of Dahlstrom Student Center, and then be joined by the other members of Culture Clash for a 7 p.m. performance in the Brezinsky Room. Part of Keuka’s Black History Month celebration, both events are free and open to the public.Atkins formerly served as chair of the jazz studies program at the New England Conservatory of Music and co-director of the Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz Performance. He was also president of the David Hochstein School of Music and Dance and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.He has served on the faculties of Northeastern University, Brown University, the University of Rochester, and the Eastman School of Music. Atkins has also served as associate dean for advanced studies and served on the faculties in musicology and jazz studies at the New England Conservatory.A noted saxophonist and composer, Atkins has enjoyed a broad musical career that spans European classical music to jazz. He has performed or recorded with such major artists as Diane Wilson, Ray Charles, Wayne Shorter, and Herbie Hancock, among others.Also among his credits are performances and recordings with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Columbus (Ohio) ProMusica, Boston Musica Viva, the American National Opera Co., the Black Collective of New York, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and the John Coltrane Memorial Orchestra.Atkins received a Bachelor of Music in woodwinds from Indiana University, a Master of Music in conducting from the New England Conservatory, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in performance and literature from the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music.The other members of Culture Clash are Howard Potter (vibes and marimba), Geoff Smith (bass), and Jay Alan Jackson (percussion).