By Trenta Luft
Special to PRIME
The Jazz Ensembles of Mount Holyoke College present their 11th edition of The Big Broadcast! for two performances on March 6, at 2 and 7 p.m. at Chapin Auditorium on the campus of Mount Holyoke College, Route 116 in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
The 90-minute recreation of a 1940s live radio show incorporates big band and swing music popular on the Golden Age of Radio, original sketches patterned after radio shows of the day, and authentic radio commercials of the era. Mount Holyoke College music faculty member Mark Gionfriddo (onstage as Matt Morgan) and his musicians from the Mount Holyoke College Big Band, Vocal Jazz, and Chamber Jazz Ensembles, are joined onstage by emcee Brian Lapis of WWLP-TV, who returns to The Big Broadcast as singing and dancing emcee Fred Kelley.
"This year with the exception of two songs we’re featuring all 'new to our show' numbers from Artie Shaw ("At Sundown"), The Andrews Sisters ("Tico Tico"), Benny Goodman ("Camel Hop") and Gene Krupa ("Massachusetts")", said Gionfriddo.
Gionfriddo originally created The Big Broadcast! for a small cabaret group he directed, and incorporated it into the concert season at Mount Holyoke College.
"Students and I researched live radio broadcasts of the 1940s: the big band swing music, the radio serials and the commercials of the day," he said "We incorporate all of these elements into our production to give the audience the feel of an authentic radio variety program on a fictitious station named WJAZ.”
Audiences loved that show, and continue to flock to the now annual event.
"What endears this event to our audience year after year? Of course, it's a chance to hear great swing music – but going deeper, it's the chance for young and old to experience a taste of a simpler, bygone era when the radio was the primary source for being informed and entertained," Gionfriddo explained.
Gionfriddo (“Matt Morgan”) is well known to area concertgoers as a pianist, accompanist, composer, arranger, and musical director. His versatility and knowledge of many musical styles has brought him together with a wide range of popular and classical artists through the years, among them Mitzi Gaynor, Liberace, Al Martino, Anna Moffo, and Garrison Keillor. His adventures while assistant conductor on board Cunard's MS Royal Viking Sun brought him around the world to 30 countries. Gionfriddo received his bachelor's degree in piano from Skidmore College and master's degree in accompanying from UMASS/Amherst. He has been based at Mount Holyoke College since 1986 where he is a senior instructor in jazz piano as well as director and founder of the Jazz Ensembles. In 2006, Gionfriddo conducted the MHC Big Band during two episodes of the popular public radio quiz show “Says You!”. He is also a music director at the Berkshire Theatre Group during the summer, and has recently served in that capacity for productions of "Peter Pan," "A Class Act," "Seussical: the Musical," “Mary Poppins” and the Neil Ellenoff Musical Mondays series.
Brian Lapis ("Fred Kelley") joined the 22News Storm Team in 1996. He got his start in broadcasting at the age of 15 at radio station WILI, in his hometown of Willimantic, Connecticut. Lapis has a bachelor's degree in television radio film management from Syracuse University. In addition, he holds a certificate in broadcast meteorology from Mississippi State University. This is his eighth season as WJAZ announcer and emcee “Fred Kelley”. In 2013, the National Weather Association named Lapis “Broadcaster of the Year."
General Admission tickets to the Big Broadcast are: $20 premium front and center seating; $15 regular seating; $10 seniors and students. They are available at The Odyssey Book Shop, Village Commons, South Hadley, the UMass Fine Arts Center Box-Office, and at the door. For advance phone orders, call 413-545-2511 or 800-999-UMASS. Doors open one hour prior to each performance.
Big Broadcast sponsors (to date) include Mount Holyoke College, The Republican, New England Public Radio, 22News/WWLP.com, and Loomis Communities.
You could win tickets to the “Big Broadcast,” courtesy of PRIME!
Look for the contest form and be sure to enter to win one of five pairs of tickets to the 2 p.m. show on March 6. Good luck!
