MELBOURNE, FL, October 13, 2010 – Active-duty and retired military members with ID will receive free admission to the Swingtime Jazz Band’s “Salute to the USO” dance on November 11.  Swingtime – the dance ensemble of the Melbourne Municipal Band  - is using the Veteran’s Day event to recognize the men and women who serve and have served our nation.

“The band is very excited about this dance and the opportunity to say thank you to our nation’s military for the sacrifices they make,” said Art Martin, interim conductor.  “Many of the Swingtime and Melbourne Municipal Band members are themselves veterans and got their musical start in military bands, so this has a very special meaning for us.”

The dance will include a wide variety of music, including popular swing, waltz, polkas and Latin selections. Swingtime vocalists Sally Hart, a singing star with the Lawrence Welk Show, and Len Fallen, another local favorite, also will be featured.  Just a few of the selections to be performed will be Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, In The Mood, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie, and At Last.

The dance begins at 7 p.m. Those who would like to brush up on their dancing skills can do so from 6 to 7 p.m., when Laura Beers (www.adancersvoice.com or 751-4766) offers lessons. The fee for lessons is $5, payable to the instructor.

Dance tickets are $5 in advance or $6 at the door for those who are not veterans or active-duty military. Swingtime, considered one of the finest jazz and big band groups in the Southeast, also is available for hire for community, church and other social functions.  More information about the event, ticket locations, and the band is available by visiting melbournemunicpalband.org or calling 724-0555.

The Melbourne Municipal Band, established in 1965, plays free concerts for the citizens of Brevard County nearly every month, and also contributes to the community through parades, patriotic concerts and ceremonial performances. Some 30 percent of the band’s 80-plus members are professional musicians. In a typical year, the band serves 69,000 concert attendees, and its members give 27,000 hours of community service in the form of rehearsals and performance time.

Swingtime is the 18 to 21-piece “Big Band” dance ensemble of the MMB, playing music from the 1920s to the 1970s. The for-hire band features saxophones, trombones, trumpets, a piano, guitar, bass and trap set, along with two vocalists and a conductor/announcer.

Media Contact:

Carmen L. Bright

Marketing Communications Associates, Inc.

Voice: 321-254-0171

Fax: 321-752-9814

MELBOURNE, FL, October 15, 2010 – You may not know it, but chances are pretty good that some of your appreciation of classical music has its roots in the cartoons you watched as you grew up.

That’s right – many of us learned about music such as Overture to the Barber of Seville and Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by watching Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry.

“Cartoons’ Greatest Hits” is the theme of the November 17 and 18 concerts by the Melbourne Municipal Band, which this year celebrates 45 years of providing free community concerts.

Under the direction of Staci Cleveland, principal conductor, the band will perform an array of selections from the world’s top composers – including Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, and Mendelssohn – made famous through some of our best-loved cartoons.

The free concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are not required. Cartoons will be shown before the concert beginning at 6:45 p.m.

“We are very excited about this fun concert and know that it will appeal to audience members of all ages,” said Cleveland.  “We’ll be playing the music that you have known for ages, but maybe you weren’t aware of its origins.”

The MMB kicked off its 45th season in August with the first in a series of innovative concerts planned for 2010-2011.  Following the “Songs of the Season” concerts December 14 and 15, MMB will present “Journey to the Stars” on February 16 and 17, a concert that will showcase the dramatic music of the movie Star Wars.

Call 724-0555 or visit melbournemunicipalband.org for more information.

About the Melbourne Municipal Band
The Melbourne Municipal Band (MMB), established in 1965, plays free concerts for the citizens of Brevard County nearly every month, and also contributes to the community through parades, patriotic concerts and ceremonial performances. Some 30 percent of the band’s 80-plus members are professional musicians. In a typical year, the band serves 69,000 concert attendees, and its members give 27,000 hours of community service in the form of rehearsals and performance time.

Media Contact:

Carmen L. Bright

Marketing Communications Associates, Inc.

Voice: 321-254-0171

Fax: 321-752-9814