New Walnut Street All-Star OrchestraThe 11-member New Walnut Street All-Star Orchestra will make its debut during the Great American Brass Band Festival. Instrumentalists in the orchestra will be in town for the festival and participate in the Conference on American Band History: The Ragtime Era on June 13. ``We are bringing players in from all over the country,'' said George Foreman, festival organizer. For example, David Reffkin, performer/ragtime specialist, San Francisco, Calif., will play first violin; Dennis Brown, professor of music at University of Massachusetts, and an authority on ragtime drumming, will be on the drums; cellist will be Amy Camus of New York City; and Gerald Zaffuts of New York will be on the trombone. Also, Danville's Vince DiMartino will play first cornet, and Rick Illuman, professor of trumpet at Michigan State University will play second cornet. The orchestra will demonstrate ragtime music at the conference and perform for an hour Saturday in the Ragtime Tent, a new addition to this year's Brass Band Festival, according to Foreman. The orchestra has two violins, a viola, a cello, flute-piccolo, clarinet, two cornets, trombone, double-string bass, drummer and piano. Foreman said the orchestra also will record several newspaper marches for another compact disc. The name of the group was derived from the Walnut Street construction, said Foreman. ``We had to call it something so we decided that since the Walnut Street is where it's happening, we'd call it the New Walnut Street Orchestra. I think it sounds good.'' |