Callaway to join Symphony Orchestra for Ella tribute

10-01-2008 | Music

Jazz vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway will join the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra in two performances this weekend that will pay tribute to “First Lady of Song” Ella Fitzgerald.

“To Ella with Love” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Sinclair Auditorium on the Coe College campus at 1220 First Ave. NE in Cedar Rapids.

Callaway is perhaps best known for starring in the hit Broadway musical “Swing!” and for writing and singing the theme to the television show “The Nanny.”

“I had the chance to work with her in Kansas City three or four years ago, and she did the same program and it just blew me away,” says CRSO conductor Tim Hankewich.

“She’s got an amazing set of pipes on her, she can really sing,” he says. “But she’s also an entertainer extraordinaire – she has a really great rapport with the audience."

The performances will open with music by Gershwin, a Duke Ellington arrangement of “Strike Up the Band” and Leroy Anderson’s “Belle of the Ball.” Callaway will then join the orchestra to sing Fitzgerald classics including “A Fine Romance,” “But Not For Me,” “Little Girl Blue,” and “Lady Be Good.”

Tickets are $21 to $54 for adults with discounts for seniors, students and children. Tickets are available online, by calling (319) 366-8203 or visiting the CRSO ticket office, temporarily located at the Grant Wood House, 800 Second Ave. SE.

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