Crowded around six different microphones, 15 members of the SF State jazz chorus rehearsed for an upcoming concert sponsored by SF State’s Music and Dance department.

“A joyful, clean, warm sound is what were looking for here,” said jazz chorus conductor Kathleen Hollingsworth, a graduate student at SF State who will be receiving her master’s degree in oral conduction.

The annual Fall Into Jazz Festival, which takes place on campus, will take go from Nov. 13 to Nov. 16. The festival will feature performances by SF State students and faculty members as well as other Bay Area performers. Jazz chorus will be giving a concert on Nov. 13 at Knuth Hall, in the Creative Arts building.

“It’s a chance for the students to get up on stage and perform at their own school,” Hollingsworth said who has taught the class for the past three semesters as part of her master’s degree program. “The students have been working so hard and have come such a long way.”

According to Dee Spencer, a professor of jazz piano, who will also be performing at the Fall Into Jazz Festival, the four-day event has been a part of SF State for six years. In the past, the festival has also coincided with the San Francisco Jazz Festival, a three-week event featuring performers from around the world.

Alongside the Jazz chorus, there will also be performances by other SF State ensembles, including the campus-favorite Gospel choir, jazz big bands with professor and saxophonist Andrew Speight, and the Afro-Cuban ensemble, which is composed of students performing a type of Latin jazz that uses elements of salsa, merengue, songo, son, mambo, and cha cha cha.

The festival will not only showcase the talents of many students involved in jazz, but also faculty members such as Spencer and Speight, as well as saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh. Each professor will give a performance Nov. 15 beginning at 1:10 p.m.

“It allows the jazz department an opportunity to shine. It’s a really cool festival and it gives a bunch of people a chance to listen to good jazz,” said sophomore Catlin Seavey, 18, a theater arts major and member of jazz chorus.

This will be the jazz chorus' first performance at SF State this semester. In the past, the ensemble has shared the stage with the gospel choir.

The group will be performing six songs at their concert, including a jazz rendition of “Pure Imagination” from the film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

“This isn’t your typical barbershop themed ensemble. We have chords and harmonies that just make me go ‘Wow!’,” said junior Benjamin Liupaogo, 21, a music and voice performance major and jazz chorus member. “There is a lot more than your typical four-part harmonies.”

According to Hollingsworth who grew up listening to jazz, the sound is very different from any other type of music. Singers need to engage in movement with their bodies and feel the rhythm when they perform.

“Anything with rhythm gets me going. My hips and feet hear the beats and just start moving,” said Stephanie Castill, 21, a senior double-majoring in dance and nursing who is most excited about the Afro-Cuban ensembles performance. “It's total muscle memory for me, it’s a connection in my soul.”

The Jazz chorus will open up the Fall Into Jazz Festival with a concert at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. The Afro-Cuban ensemble will be performing on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and the Gospel choir will be ending the festival on Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m. All performances are in Knuth Hall and all admission is free.