Mark your calendars for a fantastic free concert coming up on Saturday, October 21st at Rome Free Academy, 95 Dart Circle, Rome NY at 7:30 p.m.

Artistic director John A. Flaver, Jr., will be conducting the 50-piece concert band which will perform a variety of music to include Morton Gould’s “American Salute,” Percy Grainger’s “Irish Tune from County Derry,” Gustav Holst’s “First Suite in E flat for Military Band,” and John Philip Sousa’s march, “Fairest of the Fair.”

Featured soloist will be Joe Mariany, who studied clarinet and music theory at the Peabody Conservatory. He is retired from the West Point Jazz Knights and Concert Band and has performed with Benny Goodman, the Jimmy Sturr Orchestra, and the Adlers Band, to name a few.

The rest of the program includes toe-tapping tunes by Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and John Warrington’s “Dixieland Jamboree.” Pre-concert four hand piano music will be provided by Jo Ann Geller and Bruce Smith.

The Geller Memorial Scholarships honor longtime RFA and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill band director and professional clarinetist Herb Geller, who passed away in 2017. Over the past four years, the Geller Scholarship Concerts have awarded $9,600 to RFA and VVS graduates for their collegiate studies in music or fine arts.

GSC president Jo Ann Geller summed up the event by saying, “We know the audience will be greatly entertained and hope they are generous in contributing to scholarships that further RFA and VVS seniors continuing their music education. We remain dedicated to our mission of supporting scholastic music and arts excellence.’” As part of the fundraiser, a limited quantity of Herb Geller Memorial Scholarship Concerts t-shirts will be available for purchase featuring the organization’s clarinet logo.

Contributions toward scholarships will be gratefully accepted at this free concert, and at www.PayPal.me/GellerScholarship, or checks to Geller Scholarships, 712 Beech Street, Rome NY, 13440.