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Golden Anniversary Celebration

On Tuesday evening NCURA will take time to celebrate its Golden Anniversary Meeting. We hope you will join us for this once in a life-time anniversary party presented in the style of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Come walk the red carpet amidst a gamut of paparazzi, gossip columnists and your favorite stars, or, better yet, come to the event dressed as your favorite Golden Age star. Prizes will be given throughout the evening for best costumes. The evening will be filled with music by NCURA’s own band, the Soul Source and the No-cost Extensions, along with The Chris Vadala Jazz Quartet and folk singer George Turman who will be joined this year by his friends Paul Prestopina and Dick Kniss of Peter Paul and Mary fame. NCURA’s Election Central will be in full swing with televisions available for monitoring election returns. So, join us for this Golden Celebration as we launch our 50th year!

Soul Source and the No Cost Extensions

Since 1990, Soul Source and the No Cost Extensions have been rocking NCURA’s Annual Meetings. The band was created in 1989 after member Steve Smartt pitched the idea of a band to perform at the next Annual Meeting to the National Office.

NCURA was excited about the idea and encouraged Steve to run an RFP--Request for Performers--in the Newsletter. The ad got just a few volunteers initially, but soon the core ingredients for a band came together and the rest is Rock & Roll history.

Garry Sanders and Steve Smartt are two of the founding members still in the group. Spanky McCallister came soon after, as did Jerry Fife and Tara Bishop, and they’ve been fortunate to enlist other regulars along the way (Milton Cole, Tim Conlon, Scot Gudger, Jennifer Morgan, and Stephen Williams), rounded out by a couple of local DC musicians as ringers.

Soul Source is excited to play their 19th Annual Meeting and thank their fans for making it possible, "Thanks for making the party memorable every year. If Soul Source played and you weren't there to hear it, would it be an NCURA party? No way!"

From party classics, to the NCURA cult classic hit "I Got Your F&A Right Here", they will be sure get the crowd pumped up, as they play NCURA’s 50th Annual Meeting!

Chris Vadala Jazz Quartet

One of the country's foremost woodwind artists, Chris Vadala is in demand as a jazz/classical performer and educator. He has appeared on more than 100 recordings to date, as well as innumerable jingle sessions, film and TV scores, performing on all the saxophones, flutes, and clarinets. A native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., he graduated from the Eastman School of Music, earning the honor of the Performer's Certificate in saxophone as well as a B.M. in Music Education, received an M.A. in clarinet from Connecticut College, and pursued postgraduate study in woodwinds at Eastman.

Professor Vadala is the Director of Jazz Studies and Saxophone Professor at the University of Maryland. Previous academic appointments include teaching studio woodwinds and conducting jazz ensembles at Connecticut College, Montgomery College, Hampton University, Prince George's Community College and Mount Vernon College, as well as Visiting Professor of Saxophone at the Eastman School of Music, 1995 and 2001.

Mr. Vadala's performing career has been highlighted by a long tenure as standout woodwind artist with the Internationally recognized Chuck Mangione Quartet, which included performances in all 50 states, Canada, Australia, Japan, Phillipines, China, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, England, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, and Switzerland, and performing credits on five gold and two platinum albums, plus two Grammy, one Emmy, one Georgie (AGVA) and one Golden Globe Award. In addition, he has performed and/or recorded with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Chick Corea, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Placido Domingo, Sarah Vaughn, Natalie Cole, Herbie Hancock, Ray Charles, Henry Mancini, Doc Severinsen, Phil Woods, Joe Lovano, and many others. As one of the Selmer Company's most requested Artist in Residence clinicians and D’Addarrio/Rico Artists, Mr. Vadala travels worldwide, performing with and conducting student and professional jazz ensembles, symphonic bands, and orchestras. Within the past six years alone, Mr. Vadala has appeared with over 200 groups across the nation and Canada, and has conducted 38 All-State, as well as numerous All-County and All-District Jazz Ensembles. He has served three terms as President of the Maryland Unit of the International Association for Jazz Education, is a permanent member of its Executive Board (College Faculty Representative), and was a Woodwind Representative to its International Resource Team.

Mr. Vadala's column on woodwind doubling appeared regularly in the Saxophone Journal for 10 years, and he has authored articles for many other magazines. A Downbeat magazine poll finalist in four categories and the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Study grant, he has published a number of original compositions and arrangements (Medici Music & Cimarron Music Press). His book, Improve Your Doubling (Dorn Productions) is acclaimed as a valuable addition to woodwind literature. In addition to his debut solo CD, Out of the Shadows, recent recording/publications include Jazz/Rock in the USA, Jazz Solos, Nothin' But Jazz, Jazz Adventures, Modern Jazz-Rock and R & B, and Fusion Solos 6 books with play-a-long CDs by dehaske/Curnow), as well as a contributions to Warner Brother's Approaching the Standards play-a-long improvisation series and Jazz Pedagogy (The Jazz Educator's Handbook and Resource Guide). He also has the honor of being included in a new publication, "The History of the Top 40 Sax Solos (1955-1998)."

George Turman with Dick Kniss and Paul Prestopino

Dick Kniss and Paul Prestopino are perhaps best known as the fourth and fifth members of the legendary folk group Peter, Paul and Mary. Dick has been the group’s bassist since their 1962 beginnings and still plays for their reunion concerts. When Peter, Paul and Mary stopped touring regularly in the '70s he became bassist for John Denver, with whom he co-authored classics like “Sunshine On My Shoulder.” Over the years Dick has performed with such jazz greats as Woody Herman, Herbie Hancock, Donald Byrd, Pepper Adams and Zoot Sims.

Paul Prestopino is a multi-instrumentalist, skilled on guitar, banjo, mandolin, Dobro and harmonica. Beginning in 1961 he was accompanist for the Chad Mitchell Trio and has performed on stage and on recordings with such diverse performers as Tom Paxton, Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Bela Fleck, Laura Nyro, Livingston Taylor, John Denver and Aerosmith. As a recording engineer Paul has contributed to the “Concert for Bangladesh” and “No Nukes” albums.

George Turman is probably best known around this region for his work with Among Friends, a group of musicians who have come together once a year since 1998 for annual concerts, which have been dubbed by the Richmond Times-Dispatch as “Richmond Traditions.”

Election Central

Tuesday, November 4th is Election Day so stop by election central to keep up on the returns as they come in! Remember to cast your absentee ballot before heading out to this year’s Annual Meeting!