Spotlight on…
John Mochnick
performing Friday at The Blue VineUpon retiring in 2005 after 35 years of university music teaching, John Mochnick moved back to Winston-Salem, where he has devoted himself full-time to pursuing his life-long love of jazz.
Conservatory trained at Heidelberg College Conservatory, Indiana University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Mochnick had distinguished himself as a conductor (both choral and orchestral), composer and arranger (nearly 40 published choral works with a total distribution of over 80,000 individual octavos), administrator and teacher, while remaining active as a jazz pianist and trumpet player.
Past affiliations with the Golden Age Jazz Quartet and Just Friends Jazz Trio in Illinois provided him with new opportunities to expand his compositional talent to the jazz idiom. He has written 29 original jazz compositions. After relocating to Winston-Salem, Mochnick began scouting the local jazz scene in hopes of starting his own group. His present ensemble including Jimmy Vail, guitar, and Matt Kendrick, bass more than fulfills his ambition to perform with first-class area musicians.
Recent performance venues include: The Speakeasy Jazz Club, Marshall Street Smokehouse, Graylyn Conference Center, Forsyth Country Club and Bermuda Run.
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The Blue Vine, 209 S. Main St., presents the John Mochnick Trio 8:30-11:30 p.m. Friday. There will be a $5 cover. For more information, call 704-797-0093.