AJ TaylorJanuary 13, 2021Last Updated: February 28, 2021
Mason City, aka River City and home of “The Music Man” has a history of strong instrumental music traditions. One such tradition that is proudly entering its 25
th year is the North Iowa Area Community College Jazz Festival. The festival was developed and created by John Klemas, Head of Instrumental Music at NIACC. The primary goal of this festival has always been to provide local students access to the highest caliber adjudicators and performers, allowing them a competition free space to receive productive feedback for improvement.
Being in early January, this program has faced its fair share of obstacles through the winter weather. The concept of adapting is not new to Klemas. “It’s important we still provide a high quality event for our students who have already missed so many opportunities this year, even if that means thinking outside of the box.” Which is exactly what Klemas did when he approached Lindsay Dal