Places to go and things to see by Gypsy Bev

Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

Cambridge Concert Association Presents Michael Sonata

One of the best entertainment values for your dollar can be found in Cambridge, Ohio through the Cambridge Concert Association.  For Senior Citizens, it is a real bargain at $25 per year.  This includes four concerts at our home theater, Scottish Rite Auditorium, plus four reciprocating concerts at each of three other locations: Zanesville, Lancaster, and Alliance.  What a deal!

These concerts are varied and appeal to many types of music lovers varying from classical music to vocal and dance.  Usually at least once a year, an old favorite will appear such as recent appearances by the Osmonds and Tony Orlando.

One recent concert was given by Michael Sonata, who does a very life-like presentation of Frank Sinatra, “Ol’ Blue Eyes.”  He played to a full house and the crowd loved him.  Michael is from Canton, OH and graduated from University of Notre Dame as well as earning his masters degree from Kent State University.

Auditioning for a role in a local murder-mystery, The Contraltos,  Michael developed his entertaining  re-creation of Sinatra’s music and unique style of singing. He does such a meticulous job of matching his voice as well as his movements to those of Sinatra that several people said they couldn’t tell the difference, especially if they closed their eyes.

Over the years, he has expanded by including different Sinatra moods: young innocence of The Columbia years, swinging revival of The Capitol years, and confidence of the Chairman during the Reprise years.   He now uses over 90 songs that Sinatra has recorded and constantly adds new ones to his repertoire.

Backed up by a great 12 piece band, there was lots of variety along with some excellent instrumental solos by different sections of the band. Included were such hits as: “Stranger in the Night,” “My Way,” and “Night and Day.”

Cambridge was indeed fortunate to have the “Ol’ Blue Eyes” experience through the presence of Michael Sonata, one of the most sought after Frank Sinatra tribute artists in the country.

Join the Cambridge Concert Association at any of their programs as they are always enjoyable and filled with a variety of musical styles that are sure to satisfy music lovers in the area.  Concerts are sponsored in part by the Ohio Arts Council and Pennsylvania Arts on Tour.

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Cambridge, Music, Ohio, Uncategorized

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Small Town with a Big Heart

The Spirit of Christmas was alive and musical in downtown Cambridge, OH.  The occasion was The Cambridge City Band 2010 Holiday Concert at the Scottish Rite Auditorium.  This is an annual event in conjunction with the Christmas parade and the arrival of Santa Claus.

The band was in full force this Sunday afternoon dressed for the season.  Santa hats were plentiful as well as elves, lighted costumes, shirts and ties, as well as a beautiful holiday gown. Band director, Dr Berk Jones, always enjoys the chance to wear a costume or festive hat to help brighten the performance.

The backdrop caused comments  throughout the day and even later in the week.  It was a beautiful scene of a Victorian style village covered in snow and made the perfect setting for the Christmas music that was performed by the band. The question was: Who did that backdrop? or Where did they get it?

This small town still has old fashioned values and makes a person feel good at this season of the year.  The courthouse has a manger scene, which is easily accepted by all.  No complaints!  Well, last year some youngsters took Baby Jesus and moved his figure to a nearby place, but it was not done in a mean manner, and was recovered without damage.

Today’s concert was in memory of Melanie Jones  Bolyard,  longtime band member and music enthusiast in the community. She left this world during the late summer after a long illness, and a video tribute was shown on the walls of the theater at intermission.  Many tears were shed as family and friends watched the touching life of Mellie relived before their eyes.

All the band concerts are opened with a prayer and followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Yes, ‘under God’ is still included in the pledge.  During the day the audience also participated in singing some popular old Christmas songs and finished with singing old familiar Christmas carols, closing with “Silent Night”. The sing-a-long was led by Mellie’s Friends and Family.  Makes a heart feel good to know that this small town has kept traditions alive with no negative community feedback.

During the second half of the show an appearance was made by Maynard, the Loveable Lush pushed in a wheelchair by Santa Claus.  His bottle was quickly removed by the audio team as there is no drinking allowed in the theater!  Santa had a present, which he wanted a band member to open.  He called down one of the girls, who was dressed like an elf.  She was a bit leery of opening the present and approached cautiously.  These guys are always pulling jokes on each other. Well, this time it wasn’t a joke.

Maynard got down on one knee and with mike in hand, proposed to the young lady in the band.  That is a proposal she will long remember and she proudly showed her new ring to fellow band members.  She did have a difficult time playing her flute for the next song, as it truly did take her breath away.

The band played an outstanding selection of Christmas music with several specials.  “Santa Claus Comes to Dixieland” added some special liveliness to the afternoon.  There were special instrumental and vocal solos to give it lots of variety.

The show was excellent and closed with the traditional theme song of the band, “Thanks for the Memory”.  The Cambridge City Band has provided musical entertainment to the area for 169 years.   Cambridge should be proud of the fantastic musical ability that abounds in this area and gives so much enjoyment all year long.

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Cambridge, Music, Ohio

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