Dukes of Swing band joins ‘Save KPLU’
fundraiser effort with concert April 15
RAYMOND, Wash. — What’s
going on in Raymond April
15? For a host of local KPLU
public radio fans, the answer
is easy: An evening of food,
fun and fundraising to help the
“Save KPLU” campaign.
A Soup Smorgasbord opens
activities from 5 to 7 p.m. at
Elks Lodge No. 1292, locat-
ed at 326 Third St. Then, the
Dukes of Swing brings jazz to
the Raymond Theater, across
the street, from 7:30 to 9:30
p.m. Cost of the smorgasbord
is $10 per person. Cost of the
concert is $10 for adults and
$5 for students.
The events are sponsored
by the Elks with Thrivent
Make a Difference grants and
a group of local folks who reg-
ularly listen to KPLU.
The smorgasbord promises
a variety of soups including a
dill pickle soup. How about
a bean soup that’s political?
You’ll have to try it to ¿nd out.
Salad and assorted breads are
also on the menu.
Members of the Dukes of
Swing have been playing to-
gether in the Grays Harbor
area since 1948. The band per-
Ellington tunes like “Don’t
Get Around Much Anymore,”
as well as other familiar songs
like “Sweet Georgia Brown,”
“Moonlight Serenade,” “In the
Mood” and more.
“We’ve got probably close
to 400 pieces of music in our
library,” McCrary said. “We
also have some wonderful new
arrangements and a variety of
¿ne soloists playing songs like
‘Skylark,’ ‘I’ve Got Rhythm’
and ‘What’s New.’”
The band is donating its
services to this event, which
is one of many “Save KPLU”
activities in the area.
If the “Save KPLU” fund
drive succeeds, the station
will be purchased from Pa-
ci¿c Lutheran University
and become a community li-
censed radio station. On Nov.
12, PLU announced it was
selling KPLU to the Univer-
sity of Washington. But the
community group Friends of
88.5 FM has the opportunity
to make an offer on the sta-
tion. The group launched its
fundraising campaign Jan. 11
and recently attained nonprof-
it status. The goal is to raise
$7 million by June 30; $3.5
million has been raised so
far..
For more information, visit
kplu.org/save-kplu
Submitted photo
The Dukes of Swing will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 15 at the Raymond Theater.
forms for community events
like jazz festivals, dances and
the Montesano Festival of
Lights. It’s been the opening
act for Manhattan Transfer,
Four Tops, and Big Bad Voo-
doo Daddy.
The group started as an
Elks band of 60 musicians.
“Over the years it kind of
dwindled down to what we
have now, the Dukes of Swing
— enough for a 18 to 20-piece
dance/jazz band,” said band
director Dave McCrary.
The players come from
Aberdeen, Centralia, Chehalis
and the Olympia area. Mc-
Crary has directed the band
for ¿ve years, starting after
the former director, a personal
friend, died.
“I was asked if I would
take the band over,” McCrary
said. “I’m a real traditionalist.
I thought that supporting the
arts and music in Grays Har-
bor was an important enough
venture that I wanted to see
this go on.”
The band’s music ranges
from the 1940s to modern day.
At the Raymond performance,
audiences can listen for Duke
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8 | April 14, 2016 | coastweekend.com
Astoria Visual Arts invites
artists to join studio tour
ASTORIA — Astoria Visual
Arts invites local artists to par-
ticipate in the 2016 Open Stu-
dio Tour, which is set to take
place July 30 and 31.
Studios must be open to
the public both days from 10
a.m. to 4 p..m and be located
within Astoria zip code 97103.
Artists are encouraged to share
studios and do demonstrations,
if applicable.
Registration forms will be
available online at astoriavi-
sualarts.org, may be request-
ed via email to AstoriaStu-
dioTour@gmail.com, or may
be picked up at Dots ‘N Doo-
dles Art Supplies.
The cost to participate is
$25 per artist. The deadline to
register is April 30.
AVA will publish a full-col-
or booklet featuring participat-
ing artists.
Like the Facebook page
Astoria Open Studio Tour to
be apprised of updates. Con-
tact Annie at 503-791-2759 for
more information.
Cannon Beach Chorus,
guest high school students
to perform in concert
Ensembles from Spokane are on tour
CANNON BEACH — The Can-
non Beach Chorus will pres-
ent a joint concert with choral
ensembles from Joel E. Ferris
High School from Spokane,
Washington, at 7 p.m. Friday,
April 15.
The free concert is open to
the public and will take place
at the Cannon Beach Commu-
nity Church, located at 132 E.
Washington St. Ferris High
School’s participating ensem-
bles will include the Sym-
phonic Choir; the Camerata
Jazz ensemble; the Canterbury
Belles, a women’s ensem-
ble; and the Saxon Knights, a
men’s ensemble.
The Cannon Beach Chorus,
under the direction of John
Buehler, will open the concert
with a small portion of the
music selected for its spring
concerts. Then the Ferris cho-
ral ensembles will join the
stage. Following the concert,
a reception will be held in the
Fellowship Hall to greet and
welcome the young musicians.
Ferris High School has a
large and active music depart-
ment with over 350 students
participating in six bands,
three orchestras and six choirs.
The high school singers
will perform in Cannon Beach
as one of the stops on their
spring performance tour. All
of the Ferris ensembles are
under the direction of Barbara
Tappa. She has taught music at
the elementary, junior high and
senior high levels, has been
a cantor and choir director in
numerous Catholic churches,
directed festival choirs, and is
a respected clinician and adju-
dicator. She will serve as the
choral curriculum of¿cer for
WMEA for 2016-18 and was
recently honored as the 2016
Washington State High School
Music Educator of the Year.
The Cannon Beach Chorus
will present its spring concert
“Then and Now” at 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 7 at the Cannon
Beach Community Church
and at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 8 at
the North Country Recreation
District building in Nehalem.
The Chorus is comprised
of individuals from Astoria,
Warrenton, Gearhart, Seaside,
Cannon Beach, Manzanita,
Nehalem, Wheeler, Rockaway
Beach, Tillamook, and Ocean
Park, Washington. For more
information, visit www.can-
nonbeachchorus.org, or call
503-436-0378.