[034]MTSU FRIENDS OF MUSIC PRESENT ‘EVENING OF SWING’ NOV. 1st

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 1, 2008
CONTACT: Claudette Northcutt, School of Music, 615-898-5924

MTSU FRIENDS OF MUSIC PRESENT ‘EVENING OF SWING’ NOV. 1st
Tickets Now Available for 3rd Annual Fundraising Dinner/Dance Event

(MURFREESBORO)—The third annual “Evening of Swing” gala, a dinner/dance event, will get under way beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, in the James Union Building’s Tennessee Room, announced MTSU’s Friends of Music committee members.
The evening’s entertainment will feature the big-band music of the 1930s and ‘40s, as performed by MTSU’s two jazz ensembles, with MTSU music faculty members Don Aliquo and Jamey Simmons directing. “The Friends’ first two inaugural galas in 2005 and 2006 were so successful, drawing a full house of over 300, with great big-band music and lots of dancing, that our committee decided that it was time to celebrate again,” said George T. Riordan, director, MTSU School of Music. “The Tennessee Room is a great place for dancing and enjoying the music and the evening,” he added. “People were very impressed with the authentic and danceable swing provided by our students in the MTSU jazz ensembles … (so) this is a wonderful forum to introduce the high quality of our musicians to people who haven’t yet enjoyed concerts at the School of Music.” Riordan said Friends of Music was designed to encourage community members to take advantage of the 200 concerts presented annually at MTSU and to enable the school to better provide services and opportunities to music students, as well as provide guidance to the school by providing a community perspective. “We have an active and dynamic leadership committee who are really excited about this event, the school and our students,” he remarked. MTSU’s Friends of Music organizing committee members include Liz Rhea, Shirley LaRoche, Jane Blakey, Martha Curl, Bobbie and John Duke, Brenda McFarlin, Margie Spangler, Veronica Milnar, Linda Palmer, Robbie Hooper and Ernestine Thomas. Representing MTSU on the committee are Riordan, Aliquo, Connie Huddleston, Robyn Kilpatrick, Deanna Hahn, Andrea Dawson and Claudette Northcutt. “Our committee did a great job at putting together our first two events and the evenings were truly memorable. So many people took part in the dancing that we’re put together what could well be the largest dance floor in the area,” Riordan said. “In the past we filled all of our tables, and we’re well on track to selling out 2008.”
Also, he continued, “To help people polish their moves (as well as to learn the basics), a free group swing-dance lesson session will be offered on Thursday, Oct. 30.”
•TICKETS: Individual tickets for “Evening of Swing,” which includes dinner and a gala evening of music and dancing, are $75 per person ($35 is tax-deductible). Tables seating 10 are available for $750 ($350 is tax-deductible) and patron and major sponsor tables are available for $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000. For more information on “Evening of Swing” or the Friends of Music, including ticket inquiries, please contact Claudette Northcutt at 615-898-5924.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA—To request Evening of Swing jpegs or an interview with Riordan, please e-mail Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu.