JHS students to showcase music: Annual ‘Music to Warm the Heart’ event to benefit music in schools

During one of the coldest months of the year, Jamestown Public Schools students will perform “Music to Warm the Heart,” an evening of dinner and song benefiting the schools’ music program.

The sixth annual Jamestown Public Schools Music Boosters event begins with a social hour at 5 p.m. Feb. 10 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Dinner, catered by Aramark, will be served at 6 p.m.

“This dinner is not just for couples. It’s an evening that anyone would be comfortable in,” said Theresa McMillan, president of the Jamestown Public Schools Music Boosters.

Student musicians will perform orchestral, band and choral pieces throughout the event.

“It is just a lot of fun,” said Paul Sharp, a member of the Music Boosters board.

Ken Aune, who directs the Jamestown Middle School band, and David McDowell, who teaches math at Jamestown High School, will be master of ceremonies.

Performers will include Blue Jazz, show choir, jazz band, JHS orchestra and the Jamestown Children’s Choir.

The evening’s music will mostly be popular music, from Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock & Roll” to Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours,” the 1980s classic “I’ve Had the Time of My Life.” The orchestra will play “Memory” from “Cats,” “The Pink Panther” theme, “Kokomo,” and the “Baby Elephant Walk” from “Hatari!”

“It’s music that everyone will be able to relate to,” said Cheryl McIntyre, JHS choir director.

The annual event raises funds that supplement Jamestown schools’ music programs, mostly through the silent auction, which offers items and a variety of services. This year’s auction includes a baseball bat signed by Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer, a massage, homemade pie, tennis coaching, dinner for six, handmade mittens and more.

During the dinner, roses are for sale, each of which carries with it a chance for the buyer to win a serenade for the sweetheart receiving the flower.

Funds raised at the event — typically between $3,000 and $4,000 — help music programs purchase things that aren’t covered in their budget. Past purchases have included a piano, ties for the boys’ choir and a keyboard for an elementary school.

This year’s wish list includes sousaphones, risers, some percussion equipment and money for scholarships to attend band camps and bring clinicians to the schools, McIntyre said.

Claudia Sharp, secretary of the Music Boosters board, said she supports the music program because of “what it gave to our children when they were in high school — confidence, leadership, teamwork.”

Dinner includes a salad, wild rice-stuffed chicken breast, roasted potatoes, vegetables and champagne cake for dessert. Appetizers for the evening have been provided by Coborn’s and the Choralaires.

Tickets for the dinner are $30. To reserve tickets, mail a check to Music Boosters, PO Box 1121, Jamestown, ND, 58401, or call McMillan at 251-1071.

Sun reporter Kari Lucin can be reached at 701-952-8453 or by email at klucin@ jamestownsun.com

Tags: diversions, music, education