Stonewall inspired concert features composer Benjamin Boone and poet Faylita Hicks

October 8, 2021.Reading time 7 minutes.

Black and white headshots of Benjamin Boone and Faylita Hicks with their names spelled out in text on a dark blue textured background.

Presented by the Center for Creativity and the Arts, “Benjamin Boone and Faylita Hicks: Nobody Promised You Tomorrow Concert and Poetry Reading” begins at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21, in the Phebe Conley Art Gallery courtyard. The outdoor concert and indoor art exhibit are free and open to the public.

‘Jazz Station’ names faculty musician Boone as number three alto sax performer in 2020

March 8, 2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

Fresno State music theory and composition professor Benjamin Boone plays his alto saxophone in the studio while recording his album "The Poets are Gathering."

Jazz Station, a Portuguese language blog based in Los Angeles, named Boone the number three alto saxophone artist and number 10 soprano saxophone artist of 2020 for his album “Joy.”

Poets, musicians gather with Benjamin Boone and Juan Felipe Herrera in new album

October 19, 2020.Reading time 9 minutes.

Boone’s third album combining jazz and poetry, “The Poets Are Gathering,” was released by Origin Records on Oct. 16.

Masterclasses with film composer Robert Allaire model some advantages of virtual instruction

June 2, 2020.Reading time 7 minutes.

When the in-person classes became impossible, Boone and Allaire moved to Zoom’s virtual environment. To the surprise of everyone involved, that move made the experience better.

Provost celebrates National Poetry Month with Levine and Boone’s ‘Our Valley’

April 27, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

"Our Valley" Poetry by Philip Levine, Music by Benjamin Boone from "The Poetry of Jazz, vol. 1"

In celebration of National Poetry Month, Fresno State Provost Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval offers a message of how poetry contributes to a greater sense of community and presents “Our Valley” a fusion of poetry and music by Philip Levine, an emeritus professor of English at Fresno State and former poet laureate of the United States, and Benjamin Boone, a Fresno State Music professor.

Making Joy

April 6, 2020.Reading time 22 minutes.

Benjamin Boone, Frank Kissi, Bernard Ayisa, UVSL Studio, Accra

It was hot! It was the summer of 2018 in the city of Accra, about 400 miles north of the equator, and Benjamin Boone and the Ghana Jazz Collective had gathered in the UVSL recording studio — a white concrete building down one of the many dirt side roads. Even with the high-tech equipment, to get clean recordings, the studio had to turn off the air conditioning during recording sessions.

Samuel A. Montgomery, Department of Music Student of Distinction

March 27, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

“Expression through music has always been important to me. Expression through art is just part of who I am.”

‘The Poetry of Jazz, Vol. 2’ release concert celebrates the lives of Philip Levine and Brian Hamada

February 4, 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

A concert to celebrate both the CD Release and the life of Levine will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb 1 at Cal Art’s Severance Theatre located at 1401 N Wishon Ave, Fresno. Tickets are $15 and will be available at the door.

‘The Poetry of Jazz’ by Philip Levine and Benjamin Boone ranked #3 Jazz Album of the Year by Downbeat Magazine

November 2, 2018.Reading time 13 minutes.

Philip Levine, Benjamin Boone and the band in the studio

What started as a jazz project between two Fresno State colleagues has earned the respect of Downbeat Magazine readers who rank “The Poetry of Jazz” the number three Jazz Album of the Year in the 2018 Readers Poll. The poll results appeared in the December 2018 issue and praised the performance of Pulitzer-winning poet laureate […]

Encountering the Other

July 7, 2017.Reading time 2 minutes.

Music student Chris Carreon and Professor Benjamin Boone

Music and journalism project focuses on understanding other cultures ~ By Kathleen R. Schock, excerpted from the June issue of the Fresno State Magazine, Photos by Cary Edmondson View Photo Gallery Growing up in Stockton, Chris Carreon watched a lot of movies. Big blockbusters like Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Back to the Future. He […]