The Brigham Young University School of Music will present alumnus Jack Wood in “A Salute to Frank Sinatra,” featuring the BYU Synthesis Band and the Philharmonic Orchestra, guest directed by Vincent Falcone, the former music director for Frank Sinatra, Saturday, Mar. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.
Tickets are $10 for the public, $1 off for alumni and senior citizens and $4 off for students. Tickets can be purchased through the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-2981 or at byuarts.com/tickets.
The program will feature classic Sinatra concert tunes such as “World on a String,” “They Can’t Take that Away From Me,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “The Way You Look Tonight,” “Luck Be a Lady” and others.
Wood is a graduate of Brigham Young University and is a product of Janie Thompson's BYU Program Bureau. After serving a full time mission in Chile, Jack enrolled at the "Y" and soon was singing at campus dances and other Program Bureau events. After graduation, Jack went home to Southern California where he continued to perform, working with top musicians. He recorded and did club dates and concerts with members of Frank Sinatra's touring band and musicians from Doc Severinson's Tonight Show Band. Jack has recorded several albums. His CDs have gotten radio airplay in major cities across the country such as Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, New York and even London in the UK.
Falcone was music director for the inaugural gala for President Ronald Reagan in 1980. He has been the pianist or conductor for many of the country’s top singers including Robert Gulet, Andy Williams, Paul Anka, Al Martino, Jerry Lewis and Tony Bennett.
The Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Kory Katseanes, plays compositions from all musical periods, focusing on the romantic period but also including 20th- and 21st-century music. Nearly 100 of the university's finest musicians bring these great symphonic works to life.
Formed in 1973, the 18- to 20-member band has performed in venues throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Synthesis has met with exceptional success, commanding enthusiastic responses from festival, student and community gatherings. A past sweepstakes champion of the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival, Synthesis has participated in the prestigious Montreux International Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland and the Pori International Jazz Festival in Finland. The band has also been a special guest performer at Tokyo Disneyland and has performed in the People’s Republic of China.
For more information, contact Kenneth Crossley, (801) 422-9348, ken_crossley@byu.edu.
Writer: Brett Lee
