The Steel Pan Orchestra performs at the inauguration of President Clayton Spencer.

Three musical ensembles featuring Bates students will perform Dec. 5, 6 and 8 in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St.

Led by Tom Snow, the Bates Jazz Band performs a diverse array of styles at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5. The band will offer jazz, Latin jazz, and blues by composers Cole Porter, Billy Strayhorn, Kenny Durham, Thelonious Monk and others. Snow is well-known in Maine and beyond as a jazz pianist.

Erica Butler directs the Bates Steel Pan Orchestra in concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6. The program consists of “Got a Little Something for You” by Artiguan musician King Obstinate; Rihanna’s “Disturbia”; Bryan Adams’ “We’re In Heaven”; and the Blondie classic “Heart of Glass.” Butler performed for many years with the Atlantic Clarion Steel Band.

The Bates Gamelan Orchestra, directed by Peter Steele, performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8. Two guest artists will share the stage with the orchestra: I Dewa Made Suparta will perform Balinese masked dances and direct the ensemble on Balinese drums. Shoko Yamamuro will perform as a guest dancer.

The concert will feature new and traditional works, including the full version of “Mornings Well Augured,” which Steele, a visiting instructor in music, composed for the recent inauguration of Bates President Clayton Spencer.

The three concerts are open to the public at no cost, but tickets are required. For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu.

As the semester draws to a close, Bates concerts in early December spotlight student achievement across a diverse array of musical styles.

The College Choir, directed by John Corrie, performs at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 3 and 4, in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St.

The Steel Pan Orchestra takes the Olin stage at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 6.

Led by Maine jazz pianist Tom Snow, the Bates College Jazz Band swings the Olin auditorium at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 8

Finally, the college’s Gamelan Orchestra, directed by Assistant Professor of Music Gina Fatone, presents a program including an excerpt from Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin, Cello and Javanese Gamelan at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9. This concert will be held in Chase Hall Lounge, 56 Campus Ave.

Admission is free to all concerts, but due to limited seating, tickets are required for the choir and jazz band performances. For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.

For the choir’s winter concert, the ensemble will perform a selection of opera choruses ranging from familiar to little-known masterpieces.  In addition to leading the choir, teaching voice and serving as the chapel organist at Bates, Corrie is artistic director for the Maine Music Society, a local orchestral and choral organization.

Erica Butler directs the Steel Pan Orchestra, which performs music of the West Indies on authentic instruments.

The jazz band performs bossa nova, funk and classic swing. The upcoming program includes tunes by Tower of Power, Pat Metheny, Billy Strayhorn and Count Basie.

The final concert showcases the gamelan, a traditional Indonesian percussion ensemble that also often includes vocals, flutes and stringed instruments. Bates has two sets of gamelan instruments, a large Central Javanese gamelan and a smaller Sundanese set, and both will be featured.

In addition to the Harrison excerpt, the program includes a composition in Balinese style arranged by top Balinese contemporary composer I Dewa Ketut Alit, who has been in residence this fall, and two West Javanese songs sung by guest vocalist Jennifer Woodruff, visiting assistant professor in the music department.