A group of student musicians from Kansas University will perform at several high-profile festivals across Europe starting this July on a university-funded tour.

KU’s Jazz Ensemble I, comprising 19 members ranging from undergraduates to doctoral students, is slated to play eight shows during the 11-day stint, including gigs at the high-profile Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Jazz À Vienne Festival in France. The group will also perform at three German venues, including the Eutin Festival — in one of Lawrence’s sister cities — as the final stop.

Before embarking for Europe, the ensemble will play a selection of pieces from the tour’s set list at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lied Center, 1600 Stewart Drive. The kickoff concert is free and open to the public.

For many of the group’s members, the tour will be their first trip overseas. Albert Miller, who graduated from KU’s doctor of musical arts program last month, is one of them.

The trombone player said he’s most excited to visit Montreux Jazz Festival. Held every year since 1967 on the shores of Lake Geneva, Montreux — the second-largest festival of its kind in the world — is known worldwide for attracting some of the biggest names in music.

Reaching beyond the jazz genre, artists as diverse as Miles Davis, Eric Clapton and Prince have all performed there. Pharrell Williams, the man behind this year’s omnipresent hit “Happy,” will be one of this year’s headliners.

“The artists that have played there, and the history of it — it’s just ridiculous,” noted Miller, whose travels thus far have only gone as far as Toronto. “That’s going to be my biggest thing.”

Next month’s trip marks a homecoming of sorts for saxophonist Zak Pischnotte. The son of a now-retired Air Force colonel, Pischnotte lived in Germany for three years during his early childhood while his father was stationed there.

Pischnotte, who’s also visited China and Japan, calls next month’s tour an “unexpected treat.”

“I’m really looking forward to hearing European jazz musicians. There’s a lot of amazing players out there that we don’t hear much about,” said Pischnotte, a second-year doctor of musical arts student. “They’re not unknown, but they’re a little more obscure to Americans.”

Along with ensemble director Dan Gailey, the students will be joined at each performance by guests Steve Leisring, associate professor of trumpet at KU, and Deborah Brown, a renowned Kansas City-based jazz vocalist.

With only a handful of rehearsals left, the students are now focusing their energy on “fine-tuning” the tour’s set list.

“KU’s Jazz Ensemble I is one of the best college big bands in the country, for sure,” Miller said. “Getting to take that product overseas, I think it’ll be a really special trip for everybody. It feels good.”