The City College Concert band and three Big Bands will host two evenings of jazz concerts as part of the Harold M. Dunn Memorial Concert Series on Sunday, Dec. 2 and Monday, Dec. 3 respectively in the Garvin Theatre.

Within 90 minutes, the 91-piece Concert Band will perform eight modern compositions by Japanese, Spanish, British and American composers and arrangers. The following day, Lunch Break Big Band, Monday Madness Big Band and Good Times Big Band will hold a jazz concert of traditional music compositions.

“It’s a lot of tedious practicing, a lot of materials, a lot of different types of compositions between the Concert Band and the jazz,” said Gerald Smith, 22, Concert Band’s president saxophonist. “I think [the concerts] will be really exhilarating.”

Both concerts start at 7 p.m. The ticket price is $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors.

Eric Heidner, the Concert Band director, said the concert will be very different from the Nov. 18 Symphony Orchestra performance in terms of instruments used and the selection of pieces.

“This is really challenging music,” Heidner said. “I think this is going to be a concert that a lot of people will really enjoy.”

Heidner holds a Bachelor of Music in trombone performance and a Master of Art degree in musicology from UCSB. One-third of the band is comprised of City College students and the rest are members of the community. The Concert Band has been rehearsing every Wednesday night since the beginning of the semester.

Heidner added that the concert features new compositions that might be performed in the United States for the first time. The oldest piece, “Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann,” originally composed by Robert Jager, dates back to 1968.

“The jazz will be more swing style and shock courses in your face,” Smith said about the difference between the two concerts. “All the directors are phenomenal.”

As well as leading the Concert Band, Heidner also will direct the Good Times Big Band in its performance on Monday along with the other two Big Bands, led by assistant professor James Mooy and Isaac Jenkins, the instructor of MUS188A – Big Band Jazz Ensemble course.

Each Big Band consists of about 18 musicians and will perform three to four pieces. The concert will convey every possible mood to the audience, Mooy said.

As the conductor of the Lunch Break Big Band, Mooy got his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from UCLA and toured Japan and America as a professional trumpet player.

Mooy’s band has only been preparing for the concert this month.

His band will play a Brazilian work titled “No Wonder” arranged by trumpet player Scott Lillard.

“Scott Lillard is an extraordinary talent,” Mooy said. “He can compose music like I wish I could compose music. He writes like I wish I could write.”

Mooy shared the band will also perform an unusual piece called “Peacocks,” featuring the bass clarinet, which is not usually used by jazz bands and mimics the sounds of a peacock.

They will also play a rare piece, “Meet Mr. Cooper and Sons,” which most jazz musicians won’t know, Mooy said.

For two years in a row, Mooy’s band has been the finalist for the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival held among universities in the country.

“I’m honored to be under [Mooy’s] direction,” said 33-year-old drummer Joseph Carrillo. “He’s a really good director, really understands how to get music out of you, not just noise.”

As for the Monday Madness Big Band, it will bring some of the best charts into one set and get the audience excited, the band director Jenkins said.

Jenkins sang in all major opera houses of Europe and played leading roles in famous productions. He won many awards and his ensembles have toured Europe and Canada and performed in many jazz festivals.

On Monday, the band’s master keyboardist George Friedenthal will show his talent on the piano in a composition by Bob Florence called “Emily.”

“Both he and the piece go to the max of their skills,” Jenkins said. “It mixes 3/4 and 4/4 and has a great flow throughout. Mood changes and key changes will really keep us all involved.”

Jenkins said the band has good balance, fantastic soloists and every section is strong.

“[The audience] should expect to tap their toes a lot and hopefully move around a little,” Mooy said.