Monday, March 22, 2010

New Horizons Band Selects Mike Rossi as Conductor


For more information:
Jim Lawrence (972) 417-0903

DALLAS (March 22, 2010) – Mike Rossi has been named conductor of the New
Horizons Band of Dallas (NHBD), a group of approximately 60 adult volunteer
musicians who perform concerts across Greater Dallas. He will direct both the concert
band and its affiliated jazz orchestra, UpSwing.
Rossi is an adjunct professor of music at Texas A&M University in Commerce and a
trumpet professional who has performed with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and
also conducts the Frisco Jazz Band.
"Mike brings loads of talent and energy to the position," said Phil Cook, president of
NHBD. "We're excited to be working with him, and we look forward to sharing the
results with our audiences over the Dallas area."
Established in 1999, NHBD is unique among Dallas community bands due to its
minimum age of 50 for members and its jazz orchestra that performs separately from the
concert band. There are over 170 New Horizons Bands in the USA and Europe.
The New Horizons concert band covers a range of music from pop to Broadway and
Hollywood, touching on jazz and light classical, including marches and other traditional
wind band repertory. Special holiday concerts can often be created on request.
UpSwing specializes in dance music and the "big band" sound with standard
instrumentation and a featured vocalist.
New Horizons and UpSwing are available for concerts before a variety of audiences such
as professional and civic organizations; church groups; schools; retirement communities
and senior centers. As a nonprofit organization, both bands perform free of charge but
accept and encourage tax-deductible contributions from the community to help meet
expenses.
For more information or to schedule a performance, call Frank Bray at 972-757-4171 or
e-mail at fbray@att.net.
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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

UPSWING

EQUINOX PARTY
AND COSMIC FUNDRAISER
Benefiting the C G Jung Society of North Texas
Date : Saturday March 20, 2010 7:00-11:30pm
Location : St Thomas Episcopal Church
Cost : $20 suggested donation
Silent Auction
Live Music and Dancing
The UpSwing Jazz Band - 25 piece band
Games – Handwriting analyst and more
Movies – The Way of the Dream
with Marie-Louise Von Franz
Murray Stein Video Presentation on “The Red Book”
Poetry reading and Artist Gallery
Guest Speakers:
~ Amy “Moonlady” Martin ~
channeler of the universe and major Dallas leader in earth centered spirituality
~ Fred Turner ~
2004, 2006, 2007 Nobel Prize for Literature nominee
Heavy Hors d’oeuvres – wine and beer
The Vernal Equinox falls on March 20 and marks the first day of Spring. The sun has reached the equator so the hours of day and night are equal
around the world-a perfect balance of dark and light. At this time, we celebrate life emerging once again from the earth and we move out of darkness
into the season of growing light. This festival is also known as Eostre, in honor of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring. It is from her name that the
word "Easter" is derived. "East"-the direction of the first light and warmth of the dawning sun-is also derived from the name of the Goddess of
Spring. Eggs and hares, symbols of fertility, are also tied to the Vernal Equinox. March began the rutting time of hares-typically shy, the normally
quiet hare becomes quite fanatical and fervent. They run for miles and can even become aggressive and can appear quite mad, hence the English and
French expressions "as mad as a March Hare." The date for Easter, the resurrection of Christ, is also tied to the Vernal Equinox and guided by the
moon. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs either on the equinox or any of the following 28 days.