UW-Green Bay 6:30 Concert Series Swings for the Holidays with Duke Ellington’s re-imagination of a classic

Green Bay, Wis.—University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Music’s 6:30 Concert Series gets into the holiday spirit with its Swing for the Holidays concert set for 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2019 in the Cofrin Family Hall UW-Green Bay’s Weidner Center.

Quickly becoming one of the area’s most anticipated holiday traditions, this year’s program will feature Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite along with other jazzed up versions of holiday favorites. Performed by the Green Bay Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Adam Gaines, Swing for the Holidays will also feature vocalist and UW-Green Bay Associate Prof. Courtney Sherman.

First composed in 1892 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker Suite has become an instantly recognizable holiday classic being played today in movies, television shows, commercials, and performed at countless symphonies and ballets around the world. In 1960, that the composing duo of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn took a swing at re-imagining the Russian classic. The result was a finger-snapping, toe-tapping, version of The Nutcracker Suite that is truly all their own. More than just a “jazzy” version of Tchaikovsky’s original, it is something completely new and unique without losing the melody, imagination, and feelings evoked in the original.

Swing for the Holidays will be performed by the Green Bay Jazz Orchestra. Consisting of professional musicians from the Green Bay area, the Green Bay Jazz Orchestra is dedicated to preserving the history and culture of Jazz music. Directing the Green Bay Jazz Orchestra is Adam Gaines, associate professor of Music at UW-Green Bay. Gaines received his Doctor of Arts from Ball State University and has performed all over the United States and Europe. In addition to teaching at UW-Green Bay, Gaines currently heads the college’s Jazz Ensemble and spearheads JazzFest each year.

Joining the Green Bay Jazz Orchestra is vocalist, Associate Prof. Courtney Sherman. Sherman holds a Doctorate in voice performance from Arizona State University. Sherman has performed classics and operatic music from masters such as Beethoven and Mozart as well as arts songs and new music from living composters. Sherman has appeared as a featured performer on New York City’s Composer’s Voice. In addition to teaching courses in both the music and theatre program at UW-Green Bay, Sherman regularly serves as the conductor and music director for the college’s musical theatre productions—having most recently worked on this year’s production of The Rocky Horror Show. During the Swing for the Holidays concert, Sherman will perform such classics as “White Christmas” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Proceeds from Swing for the Holidays are used to fund the UW-Green Bay 6:30 Concert Series, a year-long free concert series that is open to the public. The aim of the 6:30 Concert Series is to make music accessible to everyone in the community and to share the talents of professional musicians with the Green Bay area while introducing the community to a variety of different types of music.

Tickets for Swing for the Holidays are $18 and can be purchased through the Weidner Center at www.weidnercenter.com or through Ticket Star at www.ticketstaronline.com or at 800-895-0071. Tickets can also be purchased at the Weidner Center box office.

For more information about this or other upcoming music events, please visit www.weidnercenter.com/events/. For a full listing of UW-Green Bay Music events for the 2019-20 season, please visit www.uwgb.edu/music/.

About the Weidner Center

UW-Green Bay’s Weidner Center for the Performing Arts is known for its elegant design and the acoustic excellence of its 2,000-seat main hall, Cofrin Family Hall. It also houses two smaller performance spaces, the Fort Howard recital hall and the Jean Weidner Theatre, along with a dance studio and Grand Foyer. The Center is a home for UW-Green Bay Music and Theatre and Dance productions, community events and productions, and performances by visiting artists and touring companies. The Weidner Center has a distinct benefit in being part of a leading institution of higher learning. Beyond the large-scale touring productions that grace the stage, the Weidner Center also focuses on scholastic development, programming and an impactful education series – Stage Doors. The Stage Doors Education Series serves more than17,500 students from 63 cities throughout Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula every year. For more information on the Weidner Center, visit www.WeidnerCenter.com, 920-465-2726, 800-895-0071, or follow the ‘Weidner Center for the Performing Arts’ on Facebook, Twitter (@WeidnerCenter) and Instagram (@weidnercenter).

About the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a comprehensive public institution offering undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs to nearly 8,700 students with campus locations in Green Bay, Marinette, Manitowoc and Sheboygan. Established in 1965 on the border of Green Bay, the University and its campuses are centers of cultural enrichment, innovation and learning. The Green Bay campus is home to one of the Midwest’s most prolific performing arts centers, a nationally recognized 4,000-seat student recreation center, D-I athletics, an award-winning nine-hole golf course and a five-mile recreational trail and arboretum, which is free and open to the public. This four-campus University transforms lives and communities through student-focused teaching and research, innovative learning opportunities, powerful connections and a problem-solving approach to education. UW-Green Bay’s main campus is centrally located, close to both the Door County resort area and the dynamic economies of Northeast Wisconsin, the Fox Valley region and the I-43 corridor. UW-Green Bay offers in-demand programs in science, engineering and technology; business; health, education and social welfare; and arts, humanities and social sciences. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.

###