The New Jersey Festival Orchestra will play Big Band Era hits in Westfield on Oct. 17.
The New Jersey Festival Orchestra will present a socially distanced concert in the gardens at the rear of 241 E. Dudley Ave. in Westfield, Oct. 17 at 2 p.m.
The concert, titled “Swing Time!,” will feature Big Band Era hits by Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and others, including “In the Mood,” “Sing, Sing, Sing,” “Happy Days” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” Singer Rosena Jackson Hill will join the orchestra on songs such as “Fly Me to the Moon,” “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” “Cheek to Cheek” and “Our Love Is Here to Stay.”
“The music is fabulous and just what we all need,” said NJFO music director David Wroe in a press release. “In a way, it’s the perfect answer to the crisis we’re in, just like the original music in the 1930s was an answer to the Great Depression.
“Hits from that era are infused with an optimism that is going to strike a chord with many lockdown-weary listeners today.”
Wroe will lead the orchestra at this show. Audience members should bring a lawn chair, cushion or blanket, and will be assigned an area (for up to four people) at a safe distance from other attendees. The rain date will be Oct. 18.
Visit njfestivalorchestra.org.
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