TUNKHANNOCK — The Dietrich Theater will host a free concert featuring Doug Smith’s Dixieland All Stars at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 26. The concert is free and open to the public, followed by a reception with light refreshments.
The Dixieland All-Stars have been performing since 1989, when Smith organized the band to fill an opening at the historic Skytop Lodge resort in the Pocono Mountains. Smith still leads the house orchestra there and occasionally his 16 piece Big Band.
Smith attended Penn State, Eastman School of Music, as well as clinics with bassist David Holland and toured with Penn State Improvisatory Ensemble and The Jazz Spokesman. He has made a full-time living as a musician for more than 30 years, playing concerts, jazz festivals, nightclubs, resorts and colleges and performing on a number of jazz albums, CDs and videos. Smith is especially interested in totally improvised solo and group interactive music.
Dixieland music developed in the United States between 1900 and 1928. Its four main influences were ragtime, military brass bands, the blues, and gospel music. The usual instrumentation of a Dixieland band is and always was trumpet or cornet, clarinet, trombone, piano, string bass or tuba, drums, and banjo or guitar. The Doug Smith Dixieland All Stars take a modern approach to Dixieland music while retaining the deep traditional roots of the medium.
Doug Smith’s Dixieland All Stars have performed at many events and locations around the area.
Sponsored by Tunkhannock Rotary Club and Jean Mieczkowski, the Wyoming County Cultural Center is delighted to bring this concert to the Dietrich Theater stage. For information or free tickets call 570-996-1500. Tickets will be available at the door as long as they last.
