[087] MTSU Friends Of Music Present 'Evening Of Swing' Nov. 6

MTSU FRIENDS OF MUSIC PRESENT ‘EVENING OF SWING’ NOV. 6
Tickets Available for 5th Annual Fundraising Dinner/Dance Event

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 14, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Claudette Northcutt, MTSU School of Music, 615-898-5924

(MURFREESBORO)—The fifth annual “Evening of Swing” gala, a dinner/dance event, will get under way at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, at a new location—the Stones River Country Club.

MTSU’s Friends of Music committee members said 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’ annual “Evening of Swing” galas have drawn large numbers of community members to enjoy the pre-reception, dinner, dancing, and fellowship,” said Dr. George T. Riordan, director of the MTSU School of Music. “We have a number of big-band music scores for our ensembles that will be familiar to everyone who enjoys swing music, including hits by the likes of Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington and Tommy Dorsey, so bring your dancing shoes.

“The Stones River Country Club is a great place for dancing and enjoying music,” he added. “People have been 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 the Friends of Music was designed to encourage community members to take advantage of more than 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 with a community perspective.

“Proceeds from last year’s Evening of Swing made it possible for some 40 or 50 of our students to take advantage of professional opportunities that they otherwise would have to miss. We’re grateful for the foundation that our patrons provide to help for us in our mission of serving students, MTSU and state and local communities.”

MTSU’s “Evening of Swing” 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 Aimee Holt. Representing MTSU on the committee are Riordan, Aliquo, Connie Huddleston, Robyn Kilpatrick, Deanna Hahn and Claudette Northcutt.

Individual tickets for “Evening of Swing,” which includes dinner and a gala evening of music and dancing, are $100 per person; $50 is tax-deductible. Tables seating eight are available for $800 ($400 is tax-deductible), and patron and major sponsor tables are available for $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000.

“To help people polish their moves, as well as learn the basics, a free group swing-dance lesson session will be led by Becky and Justin Ward at the Dance Murfreesboro studio on Thursday, Nov. 4,” Riordan added.

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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IN BRIEF: The fifth annual “Evening of Swing” gala, a dinner/dance event, will get under way at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, at a new location—the Stones River Country Club. MTSU’s Friends of Music committee members said 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. For more information on “Evening of Swing” or the Friends of Music, including ticket inquiries, please contact Claudette Northcutt at 615-898-5924.


Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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NOTE: Media needing a color JPEG of last year’s event to accompany this release should contact the Office of News and Public Affairs before 3 p.m. via e-mail at gfann@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-5385. Thanks!