Audience members swing dance to jazz played by the Harry James Orchestra.
Courtesy | Anna Northcutt
More than 900 people filled Hillsdale College’s Searle Center for an evening of jazz, swing dancing, cocktails, desserts and a performance by the Harry James Orchestra Nov. 15.
Fred Radke, conductor of the Harry James Orchestra, and Hillsdale’s artist in residence, led and played jazz standards with the orchestra.
“This is my seventh year coming,” Radke said. “The highlight of the evening is to see the swing club, and to see young people dancing.”
Guests packed the dance floor to the left of the band’s stage. Families and students gathered to enjoy the music.
“There is nothing more wholesome than the professors’ families all dancing together,” Hillsdale Swing Club member and sophomore Caleb Diener said. “My grandparents were present, and I got to swing dance with my mom and both my sisters. It’s just so special seeing several generations all enjoying music and dance together.”
Along with swing dancing, guests heard student combos from the Hillsdale Jazz programs in partnership with the event. The Early Birds played in the lobby of Searle as guests arrived, and the Rob Roy combo opened for the Harry James Orchestra on stage.
Anne Love, a senior and jazz vocalist, was invited to sing with the orchestra on Saturday night with just a week’s notice.
“We only ran through the song one time before we actually sang ‘Almost Like Being in Love,’” Love said. “It was amazing to play with a real, professional big band for the first time. I am new to jazz this semester, so having the privilege of singing with them was a fantastic opportunity for me, and I loved every second of it.”
Love had planned on singing only one song, and to her surprise, she was asked to sing a second.
“I wasn’t sure if we were doing a second song until Mr. Radke turned to the pianist and said, ‘Do you know Skylark?,’ which was pretty crazy because I wasn’t even sure I had it memorized,” Love said. “It was probably the jazziest thing I have ever done, but I guess that’s how a professional gig would go, so it was good to get the practice in.”
Because the Harry James Orchestra is one of the most popular events the college hosts for the community, the free tickets were all claimed weeks prior, according to Chris McCourry.
“It has the most production values and that makes it fun,” sophomore Ethan Williams said. “There’s also tons of families here, which makes it different from most college events and everyone dresses up.”
The Harry James musicians also had the opportunity to spend time at the college.
“Being able to spend time with Larry Arnn is really nice, because Larry’s such a great guy,” said John Capobianco, lead trumpet player for the Harry James Orchestra. “Chris McCourry is another great guy, and we hung out and went shooting.”
Both Capobianco and Radke said they enjoyed their time spent in the dining hall with Hillsdale students.
“I sat in the lunchroom with Dr. Arnn, and then people came over and challenged him,” Radke said. “He lets them open up and do what they say, what they do, and so on. And that’s a treat.”
Radke says he and his band always look forward to playing at Hillsdale because they love the community.
“I love the atmosphere and the people. Everyone here is very positive,” Radke said. “It’s fun to see people have a good time. Music should be positive, and it should make you happy. A lot of the music today is not happy. Louis Armstrong used to say, ‘You know, if you can’t beat your foot to it, it ain’t jazz.’”
