MARQUETTE, Mich.—The 2010-11 International Performing Arts Series at Northern Michigan University will feature New Orleans jazz/funk, a musical mosaic of Israel, folk variations from Finland, Argentina and Quebec, and a modern jazz trumpeter. All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. on their respective dates.

Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue will kick off the series on Thursday, Sept. 16, at Kaufman Auditorium. Led by Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, the New Orleans band plays an unprecedented mix of rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop and soul. Andrews created his own name to describe the signature sound: Supafunkrock. For more information, visit tromboneshorty.com.

The Israeli Ethnic Ensemble, a band of five musicians who bring alive the cultural mosaic of their country, will play on Saturday, Oct. 16, in Forest Roberts Theatre. Their sounds are drawn from Eastern European, Balkan and Gypsy melodies. Whether rollicking and joyous or moving and mournful, the music is always passionate and performed from the heart.

Lepistö and Lehti, a Helsinki-based duo at the forefront of contemporary acoustic music, will perform on Friday, Nov. 5, in 102 Jamrich Hall. The double bass and accordion instrumentalists have a distinct Nordic folk/jazz influence and a strong sense of musical dialogue. For more information, visit lepistolehti.com.

The Argentine band Los Pinguos will bring its folk groove sounds to the University Center Great Lakes Rooms on Saturday, Feb. 12. The band members came to the United States from cosmopolitan Buenos Aires with a mixture of Latin rhythms performed with Spanish guitars, a Cuban Tres, Peruvian cajón (box drum), bass and harmonizing vocals. For more information, visit lospinguos.com.

Mauvais Sort, a “folk ‘n’ roll” group from Quebec, will play on Thursday, March 31, in the Great Lakes Rooms. The young band members reinvent tradition by combining the folk inspiration and foot-stomping of accordion, fiddle and guitar with roll-style arrangements featuring bass and percussion.   

The series will close with Ingrid Jensen on Thursday, April 14, at Kaufman Auditorium. A Vancouver native and graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Jensen plays both trumpet and flugelhorn as a leader and featured soloist. She has performed with high-profile artists around the world. For more information, visit ingridjensen.com.

Season tickets are now available. Prices are $37 for students, $82 for NMU staff/faculty and seniors 60+ and $108 for the general public. They can be purchased at all NMU EZ Ticket outlets or at nmu.edu/tickets. Single tickets will be sold in advance of each performance or at the door.