Symphony tackles Ol’ Blue Eyes

The Swing Era has been very, very good to the Spokane Symphony SuperPops.

Two previous big band-themed pops concerts have sold out, and Friday night’s third installment should prove popular as well.

That’s because the concert is a tribute to The Voice, The Chairman of the Board, Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, the premier vocalist of the Swing Era and beyond.

The title is “Salute to Sinatra,” and guest soloist Horace Alexander Young will sing many of the songs associated with Frank Sinatra.

The song list includes “Come Fly With Me,” “Lady is a Tramp,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and “New York, New York.”

Young, an assistant professor of music at Washington State University, is not only a fine singer in the Sinatra tradition. He is a multi-threat musician who can play woodwinds, keyboards and percussion.

Meanwhile, the Spokane Symphony (what you might call a super-sized big band) will be showing off its own skills with swing. Dan Keberle, the Whitworth College professor and Spokane Jazz Orchestra director, will conduct the orchestra in those Sinatra numbers as well as a number of showcase instrumental pieces.

The orchestra will play music by Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller and George Gershwin among many others.