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2005 Citrus County Fair

Young band in the mood to swing

A group of Citrus High School students with an affinity for big band sounds performs twice Tuesday.

By JORGE SANCHEZ
Published March 18, 2005

The music of Glenn Miller, Count Basie and other legends of the big band and swing music era have found a youthful audience with the Citrus High School Swing Band.

The band performs at 11:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Citrus County Auditorium during the fair. The concert is included in the price of fair admission.

Charlene "Chazz" Iannaci, director of the band, said the musicians have developed an affinity for the lush, big band sounds.

She said the band's set lists include Frank Sinatra's New York, New York, as well as genre standards such as Tangerine and String of Pearls.

"We always finish with In the Mood," Iannaci said.

"They are the cream of the crop of students as far as GPA, the number of students in dual-enrollment with college," Iannaci said of the 22-member band. "They also play in several school bands and participate with them in state competitions. Many sing in the choir, are members of ROTC and are active in their churches."

Iannaci said the band performed at the fair two years ago but to a small audience. Since then, the band has held a string of publicity concerts and earned a strong local following.

The band recently played a dinner dance at the Inverness Golf and Country Club, where the audience gave several standing ovations.

With a 25-song repertoire, the swing band is easily capable of covering the great hits of the genre. They learn music by studying history, musicians and score sheets, Iannaci said. The first rehearsals on new music are spent listening to the pieces and writing reports about the musicians.

"The first step is to hand out music history lessons," she said. "I try to teach the players to learn about the greats who played the instruments they are now playing, and what was happening in the country when the songs were first released."

[Last modified March 18, 2005, 00:42:17]