The performances were part of the 30th annual Jazz Spectacular and many visitors stopped by the event, director of jazz studies Rodney Whitaker said.

“For us, this is more about sharing our talents with the community, and it’s our end-of-the-year ‘thank you’ for supporting us throughout the year,” Whitaker said. “Anytime a young musician can play in public and get exposure is a positive learning experience for them.”

When Whitaker became director of jazz studies 10 years ago, he developed the Jazz Spectacular into a multiple day event to show off the talented musicians within the jazz studies program, he said.

Auditions are held every fall for those interested in joining a band on campus.

At 8 p.m., the event moved to the Union Ballroom and utilized the dance floor to allow people to swing dance as bands played music. Multiple jazz events are happening until Saturday, Whitaker said.

The MSU Octet IV band kicked off the daylong event and incorporated the work of jazz musicians such as Art Blakey and Johnny Griffin, as members of the group showed off their wide range of musical talents.

Doyle said the songs are chosen after he suggests multiple choices to the band, and for this concert, he allowed some of the musicians to create their own musical arrangements for the show.

“I pretty much came up with ideas and suggested a wide range of music repertoire, and also, a couple of members within the octet decided to contribute a couple of arrangements given the fact that some of them are studying jazz arrangements right now in their classes,” Doyle said.

Andy Wilson, a jazz studies senior and trumpet player in the MSU Octet IV band, was one of the students who used his knowledge of music to create his own jazz arrangement for the band’s performance, he said.

Being a part of the MSU Octet IV band was something Wilson became interested in immediately after coming back to MSU for his jazz studies career.

Wilson originally came to MSU in the ’90s and was part of the engineering school, but he stopped attending MSU to pursue a professional musical career.

After 10 years of playing music on his own, he decided to come back to school and fulfill his love for music. He said the jazz studies program fits him perfectly.

“I’ve been playing music, but I decided to come back here and study with these great professors and to strengthen my own musicianship and to try and get my degree,” Wilson said.

“This band has helped me grow as a musician and taught me many skills for performing and playing — it really pushes you.”