Northwestern Oklahoma State University will play host to the second half of the Northwest Oklahoma Concert Series this semester.

The Justin Pierce Jazz Quintet will bring a taste of jazz to Alva on Tuesday, Feb. 16. Justin Pierce is a saxophonist and professor of music at Oklahoma Baptist University. He currently is completing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of North Texas (UNT), where he also earned a Master of Jazz Studies degree. While at UNT, he served as lead alto saxophonist in the One O’Clock and Two O’Clock Lab Bands. As a freelance woodwind performer, Pierce has performed with The Glenn Miller Orchestra, The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, The Temptations, The O’Jays and Wayne Newton. The Justin Pierce Jazz Band performs jazz standards with a contemporary jazz flavor.

The Celtic band RUNA on March 8 is the last performance in the season’s diverse lineup. RUNA is a group of five musicians who come from a variety of musical backgrounds ranging from folk, classical, rock n’ roll, Middle Eastern and more. The Celtic band’s pure rhythm will send chills through the spine as the members dive into the songs from their albums for their performance. Recognized as “an incredible masterpiece” by “The Celtic Crier,” RUNA will finish the concert series with a bang.

All concert series performances are in Herod Hall Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to individual performances will be sold on an “as available” basis at $15 for adults and $10 for students and can be bought at the Graceful Arts Center, Holder Drug, Rialto Movie Theater and the Northwestern Bookstore.

For more information about the concert series go to www.nwosu.edu/nwocs or please contact Kimberly Weast, chair of the Department of Fine Arts, at (580) 327-8462 or by email at kkweast@nwosu.edu.

The Northwest Oklahoma Concert Series is supported by the Alva Tourism Convention Development Committee, the Oklahoma Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Charles Morton Share Trust.