NEWS RELEASE RCT
“The Music and Spirit of Louis Armstrong”
Co-Sponsored by the Starr-Gennett Foundation and Richmond Civic Theatre
Coming soon…a jazz concert starring trumpeter Byron Stripling backed by a jazz quintet, will be presented on Saturday July 23 at the historic Murray Theatre, home of Richmond Civic Theatre, in Richmond, Indiana.
For this concert, Stripling will re-create the style and songs of the legendary trumpeter Louis Armstrong. Stripling is an outstanding musician with a national reputation. He has performed with over fifty different symphony and pops orchestras, including the Boston Pops, and also with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and at the Monterey Jazz Festival. He has toured with such major jazz acts as Lionel Hampton, Terry Clark, Woody Herman and Count Basie. He is currently the artistic director of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra.
This Gennett Legacy concert is being co-sponsored as a special fund-raising event for both the Starr-Gennett Foundation and the Richmond Civic Theatre. Ticket price is $20, or only $15 for RCT members, Starr-Gennett members and students. Tickets may be purchased in advance from either of the sponsoring organizations. Contact the RCT box office at 765-962-1816 or the Starr-Gennett office at 765-962-2860.) The July 23 program will begin at 7 p.m., with the theatre doors opening at 6 p.m.
The venue for the concert, the Murray Theatre, is located at 1003 East Main Street in Richmond. It has been the Civic Theatre’s home since 1952. Built in 1909, the theatre originally featured vaudeville entertainment and continued to feature live entertainment as well as movies during the 1930s-40s. The famous jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong performed on the Murray Theatre stage in 1941. Therefore, the concert on July 23 will be the 70th anniversary of Armstrong’s Richmond appearance.
Armstrong also had an earlier connection to Richmond history. In 1923, the King Oliver Creole Jazz Band, featuring a young Louis Armstrong, recorded at Richmond’s Gennett Studio— which is known as “the birthplace of recorded jazz.”
In connection with the July 23 concert, Lamplight at the Leland will host “Jam and Dance” sessions in the Leland Ballroom, located at 900 South A Street, one block from the Murray Theatre. The pre-concert music will play from 5 to 6 p.m., and post-concert music will begin at 9:30. J & J Winery will offer a cash bar and light snacks.
For more information on this event contact Terri Hardy (Starr-Gennett Foundation 765-962-2860), Bill Strauss (Richmond Civic Theatre:765-962-8011) or David Cobine, 765-962-5828.
Contact: Kathy Clopper, Marketing
Marketing@RichmondCivictheatre.org
—RCT—
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