The EIU Jazz Ensemble will say its goodbye with professional-level jazz compositions at its final concert at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Theatre of the Doudna Fine Arts Center.

The award-winning group, led by Sam Fagaly, will be playing a variety of jazz selections.

Fagaly, the director of jazz studies at Eastern and the conductor of the EIU Jazz Ensemble, said the group will play selections from many jazz sub-genres.

The pieces will range in genre from big band and swing jazz to contemporary jazz, which will include improvised solos from the members of the ensemble, Fagaly said.

“They’re playing the kind of expected big band jazz and even some contemporary pieces,” Fagaly said. “We’ve prepared a lot of challenging music.”

Pieces will include big band staple “Moten Swing” as performed by the Count Basie Orchestra and contemporary compositions including “Pure Spirit” by Steve Allee.

Danielle McKenzie, a senior music major, will be featured as a guest vocalist, which has never been done by the EIU Jazz Ensemble, Fagaly said.

The pieces that McKenzie will feature includes Johnny Mercer’s “Something’s Gotta Give” and “The Nearness Of You” by Hoagy Carmichael.

Fagaly said the final concert will be a bittersweet ending for the ensemble because some of its members are graduating seniors after a year of working to perfect their craft.

“They’ve advanced throughout the year,” Fagaly said.

Fagaly also said the event is not just for jazz fans and that anyone can enjoy what the ensemble has to offer because the music will speak for itself.

“We tend to just present the music,” Fagaly said.

The ensemble has had an eventful year, which includes winning DownBeat Magazine’s DB Award to releasing “Three O’Clock Downbeat,” its newest album.

Tickets are $3 for students, Eastern faculty and audience members more than 62 years old. General admission is $5.

Tickets are available in the Doudna Fine Arts Center box office.

Fagaly said the audience could expect the quality of the ensemble to be better than anticipated.

“(The audience) can be surprised by the level of professionalism of our students,” Fagaly said. “(The pieces chosen) aren’t for students; these are for professional artists.”

Felicia Darnell can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].