Big Band

andrear@herald-mail.com Big band music fans can get their fill with a swingin' holiday celebration with the Skyline City Band at The Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown. Emcee and conductor Yugo Ikach will lead the two-hour Big Band Christmas Spectacular - a musical variety-type show that will include traditional Christmas tunes with big band arrangements, swing dancing, vocal solos and ensemble numbers. The show starts at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12. "If you like big band music, this is the show for you," says Gary Latshaw, promoter for the Pittsburgh-based Skyline City Band.

kevinc@herald-mail.com Don Redman's big band kicks it up a notch, clinking glasses hurriedly placed on tables by excited revelers as the pull of the dance floor intensifies. A combination of smoke and sweat fills the air as the raucous swing of an up-tempo jazz jam segues into a smooth, sexy slow number. Bodies are close, music is hot, and both can be traced to Redman, rocking away as he leads his house band at Connie's Inn in Harlem. But wait. This is not Connie's place.

julieg@herald-mail.com Big-band jazz music, from classic Glenn Miller Orchestra songs to contemporary spins, will be performed this Saturday by the U.S. Air Force Rhythm in Blue Jazz Ensemble. The free concert at The Maryland Theatre is co-sponsored by the Washington County Arts Council and the theater. Kevin Moriarty, executive director for the arts council, says this celebration of big-band and swing heritage is the 21st free concert the arts council has sponsored this year to give people who might not otherwise have the opportunity a chance to hear a variety of live performances.

kevinc@herald-mail.com Zig on a backbeat, zag on the bridge then - ZIP! - zoom into a zig-zag-zag-zig loop. Picture untamed restraint on a colorful auditory canvas - playful, coy music that swoops through all that is expected and, more often than not, unanticipated. And it's coming to Chambersburg, Pa. When the jazzmen cometh, it's time to strap in for a wild ride. Saturday at The Capitol Theatre, Cumberland Valley School of Music's Concert Jazz Band will be joined by trombone quartet Slide Show for Big Band 'n Bones, a concert featuring a combination of jazz, ballads, fast-paced standards and a healthy dose of improvisation.

The Maryland Symphony Orchestra will perform with a slightly smaller than usual group of strings Saturday night at The Maryland Theatre, said Music Director and Conductor Elizabeth Schulze. But the sound will be big. Big band. Vocalists Lynn Roberts and Michael Maguire, and saxophone, clarinet and flute player Bill Holcombe will join the MSO in "Bravo Big Band," the pops concert of the orchestra's 24th season. Schulze said she is looking forward to a "marvelously well-put-together concert.

Big Band 'n Bones, featuring Cumberland Valley School of Music Concert Jazz Band and Slide Show Trombone Quartet Saturday, May 4 7:30 p.m. The Capitol Theatre 159 S. Main St. Chambersburg, Pa. Admission is $10, $5 for students. For tickets or information, call 1-717-263-0202.

HANCOCK -- Around the 1920s, some people in town can remember dancers strutting their stuff at the Monterey Hotel on Main Street. That spirit came alive again Sunday when couples took to the dance floor at the Hancock Performing Arts Center. About 90 people turned out at the center for a re-creation of a "tea dance," popularized during the 1920s and 1940s as a way for people to show off their dancing steps and socialize. Couples danced and spun around the dance floor as the Tri State Big Band delivered songs like "Tea for Two," "Sentimental Journey" and "Who's Sorry Now. " In its second year, the tea dance gives the community an inexpensive form of entertainment that anyone can enjoy, said Sinclair Hamilton, chairman of the Hancock Arts Council, which sponsored the dance.

By MARIE GILBERT marieg@herald-mail.com One minute, a reed section whispers impossibly rich, velvety tones. The next, the room erupts with the wicked, raucous sounds of drums. There are occasional piano solos, crisp, clean vocals and a dance floor filled with electrifying enthusiasm. It's a celebration of music, shiny and spectacular, that was America's soul mate in the 1940s. In an era of industrial and military power, big bands reigned supreme and made legends of such names as Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie and Artie Shaw.

CASCADE -- At this year's "Everybody's Day," an annual celebration that has drawn crowds to Pen Mar Park since its days as an excursion train destination, dancers Steve and Pam Springer added a fanciful twist to the Pen Mar Park lore. "The folks in the '20s and '30s, they came up here on the trains, and some of 'em never went home," Steve Springer told the crowd that gathered around the Lindy Hop dance floor. "They live up here in the woods. " Sure enough, a bespectacled woman in a bathrobe and bedroom slippers pushed her way through the crowd, munching on bon bons and asking men in the audience to dance.

Music with purpose Opera singer William Clarence Marshall III performs for the Utility Relief Benefit Concert at 7 p.m. tonight at The Maryland Theatre. Sounds of Christmas What's the holiday season without some familiar tunes? Frederick Symphony Orchestra in Frederick, Md., will perform its annual holiday pops concert Friday and Saturday. Celebrate in song Voices rejoice in the holiday season as Hagerstown Choral Arts presents its 16th Christmas concert Saturday.

Washington County Master Gardeners Master Gardeners will give tips on getting seedlings ready for the outdoor garden. 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Hagerstown City Farmers' Market, 25 W. Church St., Hagerstown. Email mgplantclinic@gmail.com . Christian music Bridgefest 13 features The Glorious Unseen and Oceans and Vessels with special guest Ben Regensburg plus local bands. Worship by Oceans and Vessels. Noon Saturday. Bridge of Life, 14 S. Potomac St., downtown Hagerstown.

The Hagerstown Community College Alumni Association will host the U.S. Navy Commodores as part of its annual Red, White and Blue Summer Concert Series on Saturday, Sept. 8, at 4:30 p.m., at HCC's Alumni Amphitheater. The band features 18 of the Navy's premier jazz and big band musicians playing under the direction of Senior Chief Musician Philip M. Burlin. Since the band's founding in 1969, the Commodores have played with a variety of well-known jazz musicians, including Ray Charles, Louie Bellson, Terry Gibbs, Bruce Johnstone, Bob Mintzer, James Moody, Clark Terry and Eugene "Snooky" Young.

By MARIE GILBERT marieg@herald-mail.com One minute, a reed section whispers impossibly rich, velvety tones. The next, the room erupts with the wicked, raucous sounds of drums. There are occasional piano solos, crisp, clean vocals and a dance floor filled with electrifying enthusiasm. It's a celebration of music, shiny and spectacular, that was America's soul mate in the 1940s. In an era of industrial and military power, big bands reigned supreme and made legends of such names as Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie and Artie Shaw.

Submitted photo 1. Getting a littleTaste of the Arts Taste of the Arts events includes music by Grand Point Station, paintings by Nicole Troup, pictured, children's activities and demonstrating artists. The event is from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 4, in downtown Chambersburg, Pa. Call 717-261-0072. 2. Back to the big band sound The Artie Shaw Orchestra will perform big band music from the swing era at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, at The Capitol Theatre, 159 S. Main St., Chambersburg, Pa. $25; $22, ages 60 and older.

A concert featuring the Hagerstown Municipal Band “Big Band,” under the direction of Joel Guyton, will be held Sunday, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Hagerstown City Park's band shell. The musical group will perform a variety of oldies and newer songs with the traditional big band sound. For more information, go to www.hagerstownband.org . Day care program The Parents' Day Out program at St. Andrew's United Methodist Church, at 1020 Maryland Ave., is still accepting registration for those ages 1 to 5 for fall classes that start Thursday, Sept.

On Saturday, Hagerstown Regional Airport terminal will transport people back in time. Hagerstown Aviation Museum will host a 1940s-themed dance and fly-in in an effort to raise money to house its collection of antique, Hagerstown-made aircraft. The dance is Saturday, Sept. 25, at the terminal. The fly-in is Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26, at the nearby Hagerstown Aircraft Services. The museum's collection will be on display during the fly-in, as will aircraft from private owners, said Tracey Potter, the museum's vice president and one of its founders.

Top Five things to do Big band in the barn Grab your dancing shoes and head for the Allison-Antrim Museum on Friday for a dance. Music will include big band, fox-trot, rumba, waltz, Latin, swing and a little country. Dress is casual. 6:30 to 10 p.m. Friday. Allison-Antrim Museum, 365 S. Ridge Ave. $10, includes one free dance lesson and refreshments. Guests may also bring refreshments; alcohol is prohibited. Call 717-597-9325. Coffeehouse series South Mountain String Band will perform Appalachian, bluegrass, Celtic and Civil War music.

During the first full week of April, Beverly Butts traveled twice to Washington County from her home in Hershey, Pa., to perform with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra's woodwind quintet. The clarinetist made both trips to play at elementary school concerts. Butts has been involved in MSO's educational outreach for almost all of her more than 25 years with the orchestra. She also participates in the Kinder Konzerts and Symphony Saturdays programs and annual youth concerts for Tri-State area fourth-graders.

Bobby Vinton known for his hits such as "Roses Are Red" and "Mr. Lonely" was top of the charts in the 1960s. Vinton chatted with The Herald-Mail about his Saturday, June 6, performance at the H. Ric Luhrs Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pa. Here are a few conversations with Vinton that didn't make it into the print version of the interview. Bobby Vinton on his early break: "I went to Duquesne University (in Pittsburgh). I received a degree to be a teacher in a high school band.

HANCOCK -- Around the 1920s, some people in town can remember dancers strutting their stuff at the Monterey Hotel on Main Street. That spirit came alive again Sunday when couples took to the dance floor at the Hancock Performing Arts Center. About 90 people turned out at the center for a re-creation of a "tea dance," popularized during the 1920s and 1940s as a way for people to show off their dancing steps and socialize. Couples danced and spun around the dance floor as the Tri State Big Band delivered songs like "Tea for Two," "Sentimental Journey" and "Who's Sorry Now. " In its second year, the tea dance gives the community an inexpensive form of entertainment that anyone can enjoy, said Sinclair Hamilton, chairman of the Hancock Arts Council, which sponsored the dance.