Saxophobia - Disney comes to the Mission Valley

RONAN — Big Productions, a fundraising adventure of the Lake County Youth Home, brings Rob Verdi’s “Saxophobia” show to the Ronan Performing Arts Center on Thursday, January 19, at 7:30 PM (with a little local help from the Ronan High School Concert and Jazz Band). This collaborative concert is enthusiastically co-sponsored by Les Schwab Tires of Ronan.

Rob Verdi received his music education degree from Arizona State University and relocated to the Los Angeles area to accept a full-time position with the Entertainment Division of the Walt Disney Company. His jazz band, the Side Street Strutters, won the International Association of Jazz Educators Collegiate Dixieland Competition and the Breda International Jazz Festival Competition, and have presented formal concerts, symphony pops presentations, and school outreach programs at theaters and performing arts centers throughout the US and Europe since 1985. Rob has also entertained guests at the Disneyland Resort and provided music at movie premiers and press events for the Walt Disney Company for the past 27 years.

In addition to his love of performing and playing jazz, Rob has a passion for collecting rare and unusual musical instruments. His collection includes almost 100 saxophones and over 250 wind, brass, and percussion instruments. His 6-1/2 foot tall contrabass sax can be heard on the 2008 soundtrack of the movie “Horton Hears A Who.” The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences nominated his “Saxophobia” show for a regional Emmy in 2009 in the Instructional Media category.

However, for this show the Ronan High School music students under the direction of Alicia Lipscomb will join Rob. This exciting new version of Rob’s Saxophobia show will include performances with the entire concert band as well as the jazz band. The musical selections will feature a variety of Mr. Verdi’s unusual saxophones while showcasing the talents of the local music students. Some of the songs featured in the performance will include such classics as “Over The Rainbow,” “How High The Moon,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” and “Stardust,” as well as a medley of songs associated with the sax.

“Saxophobia” in the Mission Valley would not be possible without the dedicated local series sponsorship of Ronan Telephone Company, S&K Electronics, Don Aadsen Ford, Super 1 and Ronan Harvest Foods, Jim and Cindy Willis and Anderson Broadcasting. The series is made possible in part by the Montana Performing Arts Consortium Presenter Development Program, which is supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Montana Arts Council and a legislative grant from Montana’s Cultural Trust.

Single tickets are available for only $12 ($14 at the door). Remember, youth ages 18 and under are free for concerts, thanks to the Youth Home, but children 11 years old and younger need to be accompanied by a ticket-holding adult.

Tickets are available from Fiddle Sticks School of Music on 5th, or Shannon Nunlist Physical Therapy on Main St. both in Polson; and from True Value Hardware on Hwy 93 in Ronan. Concertgoers can also get tickets by emailing cmc@ronan.net or calling (800) 823-4386.