SOUNDS OF SWING CONCERT TO BENEFIT

 PANOLA COLLEGE FINE ARTS PROGRAM

On Tuesday, May 8 at 7:00pm, the Q.M. Martin Auditorium will be filled with the resounding tones of The Sounds of Swing.  This 17-piece band has been spreading the gospel of big band music in this area since 1992.  The concert will benefit the Panola College Fine Arts Program and will help celebrate National Music Week.

Musical director, Jerry Hale, of Henderson plays the piano and keyboard.  He is retired as director of the Kilgore College Ranger Band.  The band’s featured vocalist is Janis Compton, a primary school principal in the Lufkin ISD.  She has long entertained audiences with her unique song style.  Trumpeter, Grady Kyle, is one of several band members who also sings.  Pat Griffen of Longview is retired from the U.S. Air Force Band and lives in Longview.  Panola College band director, Mike McGowan, is featured on sax.  Other musicians live in Marshall, Shreveport, Nacogdoches, Henderson, Beckville and Carthage.

The band’s music consists of many of the original arrangements of the legendary bands of the swing era.  Represented in the band’s repertoire are the sounds of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Les Brown, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Harry James and others whose music became known and loved the world over.

This performance is the band’s way of thanking Panola College for the use of the band hall.   The $5 admission will go to the Fine Arts Program at Panola College.  The concert is co-sponsored by the Carthage Music Club, an affiliate of the National Federation of Music Clubs.  The Carthage Music Club awards a music scholarship each year to a student who chooses to attend Panola College.  This scholarship fund is partially supported by donations to be acknowledged in the printed program for the Sounds of Swing Concert.