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Lake Region musicians come roaring back

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by Joseph Gresser

IRASBURG — After missing their chance to show off their stuff last year, Lake Region Union High School musicians came roaring back Sunday afternoon in a concert that featured seniors and a few members of the Class of 2020 performing in a wide variety of styles.

One of the results of the COVID pandemic is the need to find places to gather without getting too close.  Sunday afternoon’s concert was held in as beautiful a spot as the world has to offer, the Creek Hill Barn in Irasburg.  The performers played on a sheltered stage at the back of the barn, while the large audience was seated in a tent.

In her introductory remarks, Lake Region Music Director Sara Doncaster spoke about establishing a chapter of the Tri-M Music Honor Society at the school.

Tri-M, she said, works in the U.S. and around the world “to inspire music participation, enthusiasm for scholarship, stimulate a desire to render service and promote leadership music in students of secondary schools.”

Ms. Doncaster also explained the high school’s new jazz program, which she designed to help students who want to audition for the All-State Jazz Band to gain the knowledge and skill to do so successfully.

The concert started off with Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean A Thing” with alto sax player Daniel Hodgeman soloing and the school’s house band doing stellar backup work, as it did throughout the show.

Benjamin Pellizzari was up next to perform Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets.”  As he sat down at the piano, he looked over at the house band and declared them to be the Jets.

As it happens, the band lacks an official name.  Ms. Doncaster noted that lack in later remarks and tasked the players with coming up with a band name.  She pointed out that house bands are a Lake Region tradition and many, including the Evansville Transit Authority, are still performing together many years after graduating.

Mr. Pellizzari wore a modest pair of sunglasses, but other than that, ably and energetically channeled Elton John in his performance.

He returned later in the show, wearing a different outfit to perform “You Know How I Feel,” a classic tune from the 1964 show “The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd,”  initially made famous by Nina Simone.

While the house band slithered its way through the tune’s walking bass line, Mr. Pellizzari threw himself into the vocal with complete abandon.

Reese Borland challenged himself by picking a familiar Frank Sinatra tune for his vocal turn, successfully crooning “Fly Me To The Moon.”

Connor Trevits took the lead on several instruments and sang during the performance, starting with a tenor solo on John Coltrane’s “Impressions.”

Later in the show Connor was out front with trumpeter Wayne Alexander for a rendition of “St. James Infirmary,” declared by master of ceremonies, Daniel Hodgeman to be “better than it sounds.”  Mr. Hodgeman was speaking of the title, the performance needed no boosting.

In the second half of the show, Connor showed up again, this time to play guitar and sing “Give Me One Reason,” a Tracy Chapman song.

Drummer Jamison Lavine got a solo in “Impressions” and after the intermission was featured in the surf music standard “Wipeout.”

Mary Lovegrove played harp and sang the well-known folksong “Wayfaring Stranger” beautifully with accompaniment from her brother Duncan’s guitar.

Ms. Lovegrove returned for a solo harp performance of “The Little Fountain,” as a vocalist singing Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” with the house band, and accompanying herself on harp to sing Garth Brooks’ “The River.”

Nicholas Trevits demonstrated his versatility on the violin, playing a trio of incredibly subtle pieces by classical composer Anton Weber with Ms. Doncaster on piano.

He showed off his fiddling chops with a fiery rendition of Charlie Daniels’ “Devil Went Down To Georgia” with Mr. Hodgeman and Ms. Lovegrove sharing the vocal chores.

Mr. Hodgeman had his own moment alone in the sun singing and playing sax — not at the same time — with a full-throated version of “Howling At Nothing,” originally recorded by Nathaniel Rateliff and his band, the Night Sweats.

The concert both demonstrated the talents and hard work of Lake Region’s senior class, and served as a wonderful end to a long period during which live concerts were only a distant dream.

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