On March 24, the Florence Township High School Jazz Band will be holding its Fourth Annual Café Night in the Caribbean Islands.
Not exactly, but the band members and their parents have volunteered their time to transform Florence Township Middle Schools’ multi-purpose room into the Bahamas to produce the fun and relaxing mood the islands create for visitors.
By:Laura Stone
For those unfortunates who will not accompany the band on an actual trip to the Bahamas in April, this is a chance to experience music of the islands and a hometown high school band on the same night.
Café Night was the idea of Florence Band Director Adrienne Mazar. Since then, it has been band parents volunteering the time to organize, plan the food menu, decorate, get door prizes donated and take care of ticket sales.
Without dedicated parents, Ms. Mazar said, these events could not be possible.
Café Night was performed for the first time in 1997. The following year, Café Night was held during the winter holidays; hectic, but still successful.
It was not until last year that the event was in March, complete with a New Orleans theme to get everyone excited about the trip there that spring.
This year, the band will travel on a cruiseliner where it will perform on board to the Bahamas
Ms. Mazar said Café Night is semi-formal, but the disposition of the audience should be fun and relaxed. The students will be performing music that will make the audience want to get up and dance.
"Sometimes the band has a tendency to get very nervous and regimental," said Ms. Mazar, "It’s enjoyable to get everyone involved. The more the audience gets into it, the more relaxed the performers. They see that music is fun, not just serious."
During Café Night, the group will play a nice mix of swing, instrumentals, pop and island rhythms. Each musician will have an instrumental solo and there will be vocalists featured on certain pieces. Ms. Mazar said the students featured in the event are the top of their class.
She said to prepare for an event like this, time and dedication is needed.
"It’s hard to schedule around all the other activities that these students are involved in, other band commitments or not," she said. "They are a small group, but very loyal and hardworking."
The ensemble gathers two hours after school, two days a week. Seniors involved are John Porter, playing trumpet, and Mike Lease, playing saxophone. Both young men have been playing since before high school and have previously participated in Café Night.
"It’s nothing really to be nervous about," said Mike, with John adding, "It’s not different than any other performance. We’re in parades, and we have our winter and spring concerts, which are all the same."
Ms. Mazar said John is a key part to Café Night.
"He has been a very motivated music student and has achieved recognition for his excellent work," said Ms. Mazar.
John was named All-State, South Jersey Band, and he plans to pursue a major in music.
Both John and Mike have participated in Teen Arts and, earlier this year, helped the Florence High School Marching Band take first place in a major competition.
"The community needs to see what Florence has to give back," said Ms. Mazar, "and this is a great public relations event."
She said the high school is well supported in the community, and the concerts, parades and other local events attract many listeners.
Café Night has always sold out and this year the band hopes for the same. Fruits and snacks will be available, waiters and waitresses will be dressed in proper attire to generate an island mood, and there will be a Super 50/50 and other prizes raffled off throughout the night.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students. To purchase them, call 499-5009 and leave name, number and the number of tickets needed.
Calls will be returned to confirm and tickets will be hand-delivered one week prior to the event.
