Concert Hour

Make Plans to Attend Our Free Concert Hour – THURSDAYS THIS FALL AND SPRING.

Concert Hour is a music enrichment series presented on the campus of Palomar College for our students, staff, and community by the Palomar
College Performing Arts Department. Enjoy a range of exciting artists and musicians in the beautiful Howard Brubeck Theatre or Performance
Lab D-10. The program is presented weekly during the Fall and Spring Semesters at 1:00 p.m. and ends at approximately 2:00 p.m. Admission and
Parking are FREE.

This Week’s Performing Arts Will Be:

Zo Shah and Gunnar Biggs

GUNNAR BIGGS has been a prominent figure in the musical environment in Southern California for over forty years. His performance credits include several southern California jazz festivals including the Carlsbad Music Festival, Kool Jazz Festival, La Jolla Jazz Festival, Ocean Beach Jazz Festival, Jazz in the Parks in Carlsbad, Pt. Loma, and La Jolla. TV appearances include KPBS’ Club Date and the Emmy-award winning documentary, “Three Generations of the Blues.” Gunnar is a known quantity in the region, maintaining a solid groove and studied understanding of the role of the bass across genres including Classical, Latin jazz/salsa, big band, Brazilian, straight ahead, blues and fusion jazz.

Biggs retired from both San Diego State University where he was the Instructor of Double Bass for twenty-five years and Palomar College where he served as Director of Jazz Ensembles for five years. He continues to teach bass and has a large number of private students.

He began playing with the San Diego Symphony at age 19. At age 20, he left the Symphony to go on the road with drummer, Buddy Rich and has performed with major jazz artists ever since including Thad Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Mose Allison, Sheila Jordan, Kenny Barron, Red Norvo, Papa John Creach, Shelley Manne, Jack Sheldon, Don Menza, Charles McPherson, Barney Kessel, Conti Condoli, Joe Pass, Laurendo Almeida, Charlie Byrd, and Peter Sprague. Although he enjoys notoriety in the jazz genre, Gunnar is active in the classical world as well and has performed with the San Diego Opera, San Diego Chamber Orchestra and Orquesta de Baja California

ZO SHAH is a Pakistani American musician born in London, and residing in Southern California. As a jazz guitarist, Zo is one of the prominent members of the San Diego jazz scene. From jazz to fusion, funk, blues, pop, rock, he has played with many treasured artists in Southern California. As a teacher, he has taught hundreds of students from all ages. He was raised in North County, San Diego, where he currently resides. Zo initially learned self-taught guitar in high school, and decided after to pursue music full time. He began to study jazz guitar with Fred Kunze, who helped him learn jazz and audition to become a music major.

In 2008, Zo auditioned for California State University Long Beach and was accepted to be a jazz performance major. He studied with legendary guitarists Ron Eschete and Mike Higgins. In 2012, Zo graduated from CSULB with a degree in Jazz Guitar Performance. Since then, his focus has been on performing in various ensembles in San Diego. From traditional jazz duos, trios, quartets and solos, Zo’s range also extends into the contemporary jazz world. He featured on saxophonist David Borgo’s “Cautiously Optimistic” performance in late 2022 alongside pianist Alan Eicher, bassist Justin Grinnell, and drummer Julien Cantelm. Also in like 2022, he did a tribute to Pat Metheny’s legendary album “Offramp” alongside vocalist Leonard Patton.

Currently, Zo is working with Gunnar Biggs on a duo project capturing the spirit of Ron Carter and Jim Hall’s duo performances. They create a very interactive soundscape of conversational harmonies and rhythms on older jazz standards.