Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 10880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           985/549-2341/fax 985-549-2061
    Date: 4/12/02
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple 97

SOUTHEASTERN JAZZ LIONS TO MAKE COLUMBIA THEATRE "DEBUT"
     HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University's Jazz Lions will play their first
concert in a new venue, the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, on Tuesday, April 23.
     "We excited about our Columbia 'debut,'" said director Farrell Vernon of Southeastern's
Music and Dramatic Arts faculty. The downtown Hammond theatre, built in the late 1920s as a
vaudeville and movie house and recently renovated by Southeastern, the City of Hammond and
the Downtown Development District, "is just a wonderful facility with outstanding acoustics,"
Vernon said. "I hope that anyone who hasn't yet had a chance to experience a performance at the
Columbia will take the opportunity to come out to this free program."
     The Jazz Lions concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The 18-member ensemble will perform
works by Southeastern alumnus Bill Evans and fellow jazz greats such as Duke Ellington, Bob
Mintzer, Benny Goodman, and Charles Mingus, Vernon said.
     Jazz Lions members are:
     Saxophone: Lee Hicks, Metairie; Brandon Skalican, Reynoldsburg, Ohio; Rebecca Barry,
New Orleans; John McCoy, Baton Rouge; Jesse Linder, Mandeville.
     Trumpet: Chuck Arnold, Edna, Texas; Lacy Blackledge, Stringer, Miss.; David Delaney
and Aaron Wallace, Mandeville; James Riley, Slidell.
     Trombone: Randy Joyal, Puebla, Colo.; Rajah Kennedy, Baton Rouge; Don Elbers,
Mandeville; Tony Wolfe, Baton Rouge.
     Rhythm section: Henry Jones, Baton Rouge; John Loupe, Hammond, Kevin Estoque,
Metairie; Shawn Manguno, Hammond.
     The Columbia Theatre is located at 220 East Thomas. For additional information about
the concert, contact the Department of Music and Dramatic Arts, 985-549-2184.
                             -SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/news/spring02.html