AVB Community Band to host Big Band concert

Enjoy an afternoon of the best in Big Band music on Sunday, Feb. 15, from 2-4 p.m. when the 18-member AVB Community Big Band takes the stage in a concert titled “Come
Together... Jazz It Up” at the Riverside Ballroom, 1560 Main St. in Green Bay.

The venue will feature first-come first-serve table seating, and the dance floor will be open, as will the Riverside Ballroom bar.

The AVB Community Band, now in its 44th season of bringing music to our community, thanks Bellevue Family Dentistry for being the concert sponsor for “Jazz It Up.”

There is no admission charge, but donations at the door enable the AVB Community Band to continue its mission of “Music for a Lifetime.”

The afternoon of music is also made possible because of ongoing, sustaining AVB Community Band Donors who are recognized in each concert program and program advertisers.

This is the fifth annual Big Band Concert at the Riverside Ballroom.

The vocalist for the afternoon will be Emily Terrell Paulsen, a favorite of AVB Community Band audience members.

A local music educator, Paulsen has performed throughout the community, including in the title role of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Evita,” and with Let Me Be Frank Productions, Daddy D Productions, the Ultimate Legends Band, Pamiro Opera Company, Calvary Players and the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) Award-winning Pink Floyd tribute band “Project Pink.”

“We have some fantastic music planned for the afternoon, and the lively atmosphere of the Riverside is always a big hit,” said Mike Ajango, director of the 75-member AVB Community Band, who will also take the baton for the AVB Community Big Band Concert. “We invite you to get together with a group of friends or your sweetheart, listen and dance, all in the great historic setting of the Riverside Ballroom,” he said.

Some of the afternoon’s selections include “Salute to Glen Miller,” “Bye By Love,” “Take Five,” “Rhythm of the Night,” “Old Time Rock & Roll,” “Moondance,” “Amazing Grace” and “Route 66.”

The rest of the AVB Big Band’s selections — well, you’ll have to come down to the Riverside Ballroom on Sunday, February 15, from 2-4 p.m., to find out what they are.

The members of the AVB Big Band directed by Mike Ajango are Brent Hussin, Chris Forbes, Tim Bader and Mike Smits, trumpets; Joe Wingerter, Dick Nocenti, Rachel Rabas and Keegan Andersen, trombones; Cindy Swain, Kellie Beno, Kimberly Smithson, Dave Thaldorf and Chuck Larscheid, saxophones; Paul Oleksy, piano; Thomas Killian, drums; Jerry Kruse, auxiliary percussion; Russ Nau, guitar; and Josh Patchak, bass.