Gulf Coast Symphony is bringing Southwest Florida the “Sounds of America” in observance of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Pianomania! Rockin’ the 1950s
It begins May 30 with “Pianomania! Rockin’ the 1950s.”
“Jared Freiburg is a pianist who's played Jerry Lee Lewis in ‘Million Dollar Quartet,’ and he's put together this really high energy show that features music by all kinds of entertainers — Little Richard, Ray Charles and even people who've influenced them like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Billy Joel,” said Gulf Coast Symphony Music Director Andrew Kurtz. “Now he's with his trio so it's not just piano. He's playing this really incredible program of rock and roll, blues, jazz, country, actually, but it's a real celebration of the keyboard.”
Among the songs Freiburg includes in Pianomania are:
- “Blue Suede Shoes” – Carl Perkins
- “Blueberry Hill” – Fats Domino
- “Pretty Woman” – Roy Orbison
- “Root Beer Rag” – Billy Joel
- “Fly Me to the Moon” – Frank Sinatra
- “Jailhouse Rock” – Elvis Presley
- “Chantilly Lace” – The Big Bopper
- “Johnny B. Goode” – Chuck Berry
- Little Richard Medley – Little Richard
- “What’d I Say” – Ray Charles
- “Great Balls of Fire” – Jerry Lee Lewis
Performances are at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. May 30 at the Music & Arts Community Center.
The Sounds of Soul: Motown & Beyond
The Sounds of Soul: Motown and Beyond is a six-person vocal group that travels with a five-piece band performing the hits of Motown. It's a really wonderful selection of some of the greatest music by The Temptations, The Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Lionel Richie and others.
Since launching in 1996, The Sounds of Soul has headlined from Los Angeles to New Orleans' French Quarter. On the airwaves, the group has appeared on the internationally syndicated show “Dance Connection” (seen in over 100 television markets), and it has shared the stage with The O’Jays, Bobby Brown, and funny man Sinbad. Selections from the show have also been featured at major venues, including Miami’s American Airlines Arena and Tampa Bay’s Sun Dome/Yuengling Center.
“The Sounds of Soul” group maintains a performance schedule that averages over 325 shows per year.
“The fact that we were able to route them through the MACC (Music & Arts Community Center) this summer [is amazing],” said Kurtz. “We are really excited because we're looking for things that can broaden our audience during the summer months when our snowbirds are gone. It really gives us an opportunity to reach out to the people who live here full time and make sure that we're programming things that are exciting to all members of our very diversified community.”
Performances are 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. June 20.
The Four C Notes
“The Four C Notes is a Frankie Valli tribute, which really means a ‘Jersey Boys’ tribute,” Kurtz noted. “‘Jersey Boys,’ when it hit Broadway, basically made Frankie Valli important again. I think a lot of people had forgotten about Frankie Valli unless you were a huge oldies fan. The four singers in this ensemble are all alum of ‘Jersey Boys,’ so we're talking about music like ‘Sherry,’ ‘Big Girls Don't Cry,’ ‘Walk Like a Man,’ ‘Can't Take My Eyes Off of You’ ‘Oh What a Night.’”
The Four C Notes were created by John Michael Coppola – best known for his appearance in Chicago’s long-running production of “Jersey Boys.”
“When he left the Chicago production he put together this particular show,” Kurtz added. “We know it's popular with our crowd and again we were able to get the show at the MACC.”
Performances are 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on June 4.
America’s Sweethearts
“Now the weekend leading into July 4th we have a number of things coming on but the group that I decided to book is called America's Sweethearts and their show is from Broadway to Big Band,” said Kurtz. “It's sort of an Andrews Sisters close-knit harmony that the Andrews Sisters created in the ‘30s.”
America has loved the swinging sounds of female close-harmony groups even before The Andrews Sisters hit the airwaves in 1937.
“It's a combination of music from the Great American Songbook, classic Broadway, and pop tunes from the ‘50s,” Kurtz explained. “They have a huge variety of trios, duets, solos that it's just a real slice of Americana and we're talking everything from ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,’ ‘Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,’ ‘Happy Days Are Here Again,’ ‘Lullaby of Broadway,’ ‘Hold Tight Hold Tight’ and ‘The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)’.”
The women of America’s Sweethearts have performed across the country at iconic spaces honoring our veterans, including the Intrepid Air and Space Museum and the WASP Museum, as well as large theaters and intimate cabaret venues, celebrating history through their crystal-clear harmony and colorful costumes.
“This is also a show that's been around for almost 20 years,” Kurtz said. “It's a real toe-tapping crowd-pleaser. I thought that would be a good part of nostalgia as we started to celebrate that July 4th weekend.”
Performances are 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on June 27.
America at 250: A Symphonic Celebration
The high note in Gulf Coast Symphony’s Sounds of America celebration is “America at 250: A Symphonic Celebration,” a musical journey through the heart of the American experience. It includes John Williams' “Liberty Fanfare,” George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” (blending jazz and symphonic color in a work that captures the vibrancy of a nation on the rise), selections from Copland’s “Rodeo” (music that dances, sings, and celebrates the spirit of the frontier), with Broadway favorites and nostalgic American classics also woven into the program.
The concert also includes a powerful tribute to those who have served our nation, and features unforgettable film music, including themes from “Born on the Fourth of July” and the deeply moving “Hymn to the Fallen” from “Saving Private Ryan” along with the timeless strains of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“These moments of reflection and pride capture the solemnity and the strength of the American spirit,” said Kurtz. “’America at 250: A Symphonic Celebration’ is bold, emotional, and filled with unforgettable music – a tribute to our history, our people, and the enduring power of music to bring us together as a country.”
It’s at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 3, at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall.
The programming continues
“Summer of America” doesn’t end with the July 3rd concert at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall.
“In July, Frank Sanders is doing his Americana concert,” said Kurtz. “It's actually the 26th of July. It'll be sax, clarinet, and piano doing a celebration of America — different songs by American composers and an apple pie concert.”
In fact, “Summer of America” stretches beyond Labor Day.
“Our American celebrations are taking place throughout the summer,” Kurtz added. “In September, the jazz collective is doing a Great American Songbook concert, and they're doing music written by Gershwin and Porter and Berlin and Rogers, all jazz versions as part of that.”
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
Sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture.
