DANBURY, CONN. — Western Connecticut State University will present its annual Oktoberfest Jazz concert at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 29, in Ives Concert Hall in White Hall on the university’s Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. The concert will be free and open to the public, donations to support the music department will be accepted and attendees are encouraged to wear a Halloween costume.

Featured performers will be the Frankensax group, led by Andrew Beals; the WCSU Jazz Ensemble, led by Dave Scott; and the WCSU Jazz Orchestra, led by Jamie Begian.

Begian, coordinator of Jazz Studies at WestConn, said, “The Halloween concert is always a lot of fun; the students have been working very hard preparing for the ‘opening night’ of the semester so there’s a lot of energy waiting to be released. The costume element also adds to their excitement — the Jazz Orchestra students always come up with some rather creative ideas!”

The program will feature Frank Foster’s “Shiny Stockings,” WCSU jazz faculty Deborah Weisz’s “Ginder’s Garden” and WCSU Coordinator of Jazz Studies Jamie Begian’s “Halay.”

For more information, call the music department at (203) 837-8350.

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.