Friends of Music will conclude its 2016-2017 concert season with the annual performance in Kennett by The Southeast Missouri Regional Jazz Orchestra on Saturday, August 5, beginning at 5:00 p.m., in the Mayes Fellowship Hall of First Christian Church, 105 W. Washington St., Kennett. Please note the starting time. Admission to the concert is free, and the public is cordially invited.
The Southeast Missouri Regional Jazz Orchestra was founded in the year 2000, and has been performing summer concerts ever since. Based in Dexter, Missouri, the Orchestra draws its members from southeast Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, and Arkansas. According to the Orchestra’s director, Scott Rybolt, “This year is our 17th season, and we are thrilled to continue to make music for our audience. Jazz is America’s original art form. It is our honor to share it with you.”
The Orchestra will perform a variety of musical styles, including some traditional favorites like In the Mood, A Switch in Time, and Count Bubba; classics such as Let it Be and The Way I Feel About You; movie tunes, including Beauty and the Beast and The Rainbow Connection (originally performed by Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie); and patriotic songs, including The Star-Spangled Banner and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. “We’re also working on a number of other tunes, some new and some that we haven’t played in several years,” Rybolt said. “Of course, no performance of ours would be complete without our traditional closer, The Chicken.”
This year’s orchestra is comprised of nineteen musicians of diverse ages and from diverse occupations, including eight public school teachers, one public school superintendent, one university student counselor, two college students, four high school students, one middle school student, one stay-at-home mom, and one casino bank supervisor. The Orchestra welcomes five new members this year.
This year’s Orchestra includes:
Saxophone Section
Scott Rybolt • Band Director, Dexter High School (17)
Kyle Dare • Superintendent of Schools, Puxico School District (11)
Andrea Diebold • Domestic Supervisor, Chatham, IL (9)
Pride Wilder • Music Teacher, East Carter School District (3)
Ella Crader • Student, Sikeston High School (1)
Trumpet Section
Adam Clark • Third Grade Teacher, Central Elementary School - Dexter (17)
Brooke DeArman • International Student Counselor, Southeast Missouri State University (11)
Jeremy Frazier • Band Director, Scott County Central School District (4)
Cody Jinkerson • Band Director, T.S. Hill Middle School - Dexter (3)
Layla Brown • Student, Dexter High School (1)
Trombone Section
Corey Bennett • English Teacher, Dexter High School (11)
Ken DeArman • Cage/Bank Supervisor, Isle Casino, Cape Girardeau (9)
Alex Martin • Band Director, Chaffee School District (2)
Korie Brewer • College Student, Murray State University (1)
Benji Rybolt • Student, T.S. Hill Middle School - Dexter (1)
Rhythm Section
Kyle Clay • Bass Guitar • Band Director, Scott City School District (13)
Addison Moore • Percussion • College Student, University of Central Arkansas (4)
Sam Traxel • Piano • Student, Poplar Bluff High School (2)
Sean Rybolt • Percussion • Student, Dexter High School (1)
*Number in ( ) represents years as a member of the Orchestra
The complete program is the following:
The Star Spangles Banner
Francis Scott Key, arranged by Tom Kubis
Groovin’ Hard
Don Menza
Dream of the Return
Pat Metheny, arranged by Robert Curnow
Latin Dance
Bob Mintzer
Switch in Time
Sammy Nestico
The Rainbow Connection (from The Muppet Movie)
Paul Williams and Kenneth L. Ascher, arranged by Mark Taylor
Cold Duck Time
Eddie Harris, arranged by Alan Baylock
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
Don Raye and Hughie Prince, arranged by Stephen Bulla
Beauty and the Beast
Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, arranged by Gordon Goodwin
In the Mood
Joe Garland
Count Bubba
Gordon Goodwin
The Hayburner
Sammy Nestico
I Remember Clifford
Benny Golson, arranged by Sammy Nestico
Spain
Chick Corea, arranged by Paul Jennings
The Way I Feel About You
Carl “Doc” Severinsen and Tommy Newsom
Dancing Men
John LaBarbera
Let it Be
John Lennon and Paul McCartney, arranged by Nell Slater
The Chicken
Alfred James Ellis, arranged by Kris Berg