Photo Essay: A night of jazz at Fresno State

By Samantha Rangel, Staff Reporter • Oct 30, 2025

The Fresno State Jazz Orchestra is made up of 25 members (two are not pictured here). The jazz orchestra is the only college group across the state that will be performing at the annual Californian All State Music Educator Association annual conference in January.

Samantha Rangel/The Collegian

Richard Lloyd Giddens Jr. directs the brass players in the jazz ensemble through “Afro-Bossa (Bula)” by Duke Ellington. (Samantha Rangel/The Collegian)

Elric Pfifer is featured with percussion behind him in Billy Strayhorn’s “Elf.” (Samantha Rangel/The Collegian)

Javier Chavez plays the vibraphone with four mallets as a member of the jazz orchestra. (Samantha Rangel/The Collegian)

James Pierce on the drum set for “Gingerbread Girl” written by Wayne Wallace. (Samantha Rangel/The Collegian)

Aidan Godinho and Jacob Youngs play trumpet in Fresno State’s Jazz Ensemble at the start of the concert on Oct. 28. (Samantha Rangel/The Collegian)

Ryan Peterson solos on the trombone during “No Worries If Not” by Annie Booth. (Samantha Rangel/The Collegian)

During Christine Jensen’s “Seafever,” a musical conversation between Isley Parada on trumpet and Jordan De La Torre on clarinet fills the room. (Samantha Rangel/The Collegian)

Both jazz ensembles perform under the direction of Giddens Jr., who leads Jazz Studies at Fresno State. (Samantha Rangel/The Collegian)

About the Contributor

Samantha Rangel, Staff Reporter

Samantha Rangel is a new staff reporter for the Collegian and a senior at Fresno State. She has also worked as a reporter for KVPR (Valley Public Radio) since spring of 2025. Samantha is a Broadcast Journalism major and hopes to attend graduate school and pursue a career in radio journalism.

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