Look ahead Jan. 16-22: Concerts, art events, a dance and Valentine's dinner

Maria Sonnenberg
For FLORIDA TODAY
Get ready to give to snap your fingers to the tunes you’ll hear at “Jazz Up the New Year,” back-to-back free concerts presented by the Melbourne Community Orchestra and Melbourne Municipal Band’s Swingtime jazz ensemble.

Jazz it up

The rites of winter for Brevard music fans include two nights of finger-snapping jazz courtesy of the Melboune Community Orchestra and Melbourne Municipal Band’s Swingtime jazz band, who get together for an annual collaboration when the weather turns nippy.

A theme of “Jazz Up the New Year!” gives you an idea of what to expect. The free concerts are slated for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 30 and 31, at Melbourne Auditorium, 625 Hibiscus Blvd.

No tickets are required for this jazzy extravaganza that includes more than 25 jazz and Big Band standards, from “Night and Day” and “Embraceable You” to “Moon River and “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “The Lady is a Tramp.”

If you want to “cut a rug,” the aisles at the Auditorium are perfect and you won’t be alone.

“It’s not unusual for people to get up out of their seats and start dancing,” said Melbourne Community Orchestra president Nancy Anderson

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Arrive early for best seating.

Call 321-285-6724 or visit MCOrchestra.org for more details.

Stars of tomorrow

The musicians showcased in “Music on the River” may be short in years, but they’re long in talent. The concert series, sponsored in a partnership between the Creative Arts Foundation of Brevard, Riverside Presbyterian Church and the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra., showcases the next generation of exceptionally talented performers.

The next concert of the series, scheduled for 3:30 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 27, takes place aptly enough at the Music Church, aka Riverside Presbyterian, 3400 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach.

The concert features sister violinists Ellen and Soy Choi; pianist Bethany Davis; cellist Isaac Moorman; Sarah Ward on oboe; and Monet Jowers who will perform both on horn and piano. The young artists will tackle works by composers Maurice Ravel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Reinhold Glière, Frederic Chopin and many more.

Emceeing the show is Sally Hart, a star of the iconic “Lawrence Welk Show.”

The concert is free with a suggested donation of $10. Donations will be used to support rising young performers with grants, tuition assistance and performance opportunities. Creative Arts Foundation supports local artists in the fields of music, drama, dance, literature and the visual arts, with primary focus on young musical prodigies with financial needs.

"This is all about helping passionate young artists achieve their dreams by providing performance opportunities like this one, along with annual grants and tuition assistance,” said Aaron Collins, president of the Creative Arts Foundation of Brevard and conductor and artistic director of the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra.

For more information, call 321-604-0103 or visit CAFOB.org.

Art of my heart

Stroll Rockledge’s Barton Boulevard and get your art on during the 11th annual Rockledge Art and Craft Show. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 27, visitors can enjoy unique local and regional art and crafts, plus food and beverage vendors. On Saturday, add a Cruise-on-In Car Show and DJ Fast Eddie to the fun and on Sunday, stay to watch the K-9 demo and the food trucks.

Admission is free and parking is plentiful at Village Green, McLarty Park and City Hall.

For more information, call 321-221-7540, extension 112.

Rock on

It’s poodle skirt city when Rock & Roll Revue, an eight-piece ensemble of the Melbourne Municipal Band, puts on its second ‘50s-style sock hop at 7 p.m., Friday. Jan. 25, at Melbourne Auditorium, 625 Hibiscus Blvd. Lending the Doo-Wop vocals are popular local singer Len Fallen along with the Swingtimers Vocal Trio, aka Connie Maltby, Diana Sageser and Dave Hutson.

“Louie, Louie,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Shake, Rattle and Roll” and many other hits of yore are part of the program.

“Our first sock hop last year was a sellout, and so many attendees were asking when we would have another, so we are kicking off 2019 with this fun evening,” said conductor Art Martin. 

Tickets are $10 at the door and in advance at WMMB Radio and Genesis Boutique in Melbourne, Marion Music in Palm Bay, Brass and Reed Music Center in Merritt Island, Guitar Haven in Indian Harbor Beach, Art Gallery of Viera, and Ocean Sports World in Cocoa Beach.

Dress the part if you wish to this BYOB party. Reserve tables for eight or more by calling 321-339-7705.

Bring an extra fiver to pay dance instructor Laura Beers if you want to brush up on your rocking with lessons from 6 to 7 p.m.

Founders’ Day

The local chapter of P.E.O. International invites the community to discover this women’s social group that engages in philanthropic endeavors. Its annual luncheon is at 11 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 26, at The Tides, 1001 N. State Road A1A, at Patrick Air Force Base. 

A sweetheart of a dinner

Meisterchef Edmund Deleuil and his good wife, Heidi, are accepting reservations for Heidelberg Restaurant’s romantic four-course Valentine’s Day dinner, which will be musically accompanied by Mark Hubrouck on the piano in the main restaurant and Sybil Gage onstage at the adjoining Heidi’s Jazz Club.

The menu features a first course of jumbo shrimp cocktail, French brie or carpaccio of beef tenderloin and a second course of lobster bisque, Beef Consomme Celestine, chilled cucumber soup, Four-Season Salad or Caesar salad.

The main event is diner’s choice between Angus filet, filet of Norwegian salmon, Wiener Schnitzel, sauerbraten, Chicken Rahm Schnitzel and Jaeger Schnitzel.

Finish the meal with dessert of German chocolate truffle torte in a walnut curst, Vienna apple strudel or Malakoff Torte.

For reservations and prices, call 321-783-6806 or visit heidelbergcocoabeach.com and heidisjazzclub.com. Heidelberg Restaurant is at 7 N. Orlando Ave., Cocoa Beach.

Email toastofthecoastfloridatoday@gmail.com.