Seventeen years after his death, jazz legend Frank Sinatra’s legacy will live on as his music fills the Hartmann Center.
In celebration of Sinatra’s 100th birthday, Bradley’s Theatre Performance and Jazz Ensemble will perform “Come Fly With Me: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra” today and tomorrow. This show will feature a variety of Frank Sinatra’s classic songs performed by Bradley students, including “New York, New York” and “Come Fly With Me.”
Performing with the Jazz Ensemble will be Eric Peterson, a 2003 graduate with a degree in Theatre Arts. Peterson has had success on Broadway, performing in musicals such as “Shrek: The Musical” and “Elf.” He has also appeared on TV shows such as “The Big Bang Theory” and “CSI.”
Other special guests will make appearances as well, including Interim President Stan Liberty and the former President of Music Operations of Warner Bros., Doug Frank.
The event was coordinated by Todd Kelly, the current director of Bradley’s Jazz Ensemble, alongside the Theatre Arts Department.
“When I realized that this year marks Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday, I realized that it was a perfect opportunity to pay tribute to the greatest popular singer of the 20th century,” Kelly said. “When Eric was a student at Bradley, he approached me about singing with the band. When I decided to produce this tribute, Eric’s name leapt to my mind.”
Senior music business major Maggie Sloter will be sing alongside Eric Peterson.
“[What] I am most looking forward to, [and] it’s hard to pinpoint it, [is] the thrill of performing and getting to make music with your peers,” Sloter said. “That sounds super cheesy, but that’s honestly the best thing in the world. Getting to sing with him will be pretty exciting because he and I were actually in a show together when he was a student here.”
Sloter said she was “jazzed” to be paying tribute to Frank Sinatra.
“Frank Sinatra is basically the gold standard for vocal jazz,” Sloter said. “There’s different artists who model themselves after him. There are Sinatra impersonators, but he is it; he’s the gold standard, a great singer, a great voice. His voice just swings. It’s everything.”
Students in the Jazz Ensemble said they are eager to perform in the tribute concert. Senior computer science major Michael Howley will perform as a drummer in the event.
“It’s a huge honor to be a part of this tribute [during] my senior year of college with some of the best musicians I’ve ever played with,” Howley said. “These are the sort of memories I will hold near and dear in the future.”
Performances for “Come Fly With Me: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra” will be at 8 p.m. today, and at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets are $25 for adults and $5 for students at the Hartmann Center box office or by calling (309) 677-2650.
“Frank Sinatra has been one of my musical heroes since I was a kid,” Kelly said. “Excited does not begin to describe [how I feel], and the students in the Jazz Ensemble have been working very hard on this music. I am proud to be their director.”
