Friends of Music begins season with Kennett Schola Cantorum performance

Friends of Music Society's 2009-2010 season will begin with a performance of 16th and 17th century music by the Kennett Schola Cantorum and include five other events scheduled for the year.

The Kennett Schola Cantorum's presentation will be hosted at 6:30 p.m., on December 3, at the First Presbyterian Church in Kennett.

The performance will include sacred and secular music performed unaccompanied in Latin and English and will feature the music of John Farmer, Giles Farnaby, Thomas Weelkes, and Williams Byrd.

Other events scheduled for the new season include Brooke Privette, of Kennett, on February 7, 2010, with assisting trumpeter Marc Fulgham and organist Gary Miller; dinner theater with the Rivercity Ramblers Dixieland Jazz Band, of St. Louis, on March 19, 2010; Mia and Jon Hynes on April, 24, 2010, which will feature two players on one piano; and the Kennett Municipal Band and Southeast Missouri Regional Jazz Orchestra both scheduled during the summer of 2010.

All events are open to the public and free of charge, in exception to the dinner theater event, which will be by ticket only, according to the Friends of Music Society.

The group added that financial assistance for tickets to the dinner theater event is expected from the Missouri Arts Council.

A 1903 6'4" Chickering Grand Piano was recently donated to Friends of Music from Ruth Ann Brown in Memory of her late husband, Keith Brown.

The members of the organization noted that the piano will be used for special events where a fine piano might, otherwise, not be accessible. The piano is currently in front of Sissy's Bella Cuisine located in the Kennett Square, according to representatives.

Friends of Music is a not-for-profit organization that depends on support from the community to make its work possible, according to program representatives.

The representatives added that the Missouri Arts Council affirms that "the arts play a vital role in the life and well-being of the community," and that "they are an important tool for educational, economic, and community development and revitalization with significant impact on Missouri."

Friends of Music invites individuals to join for the 30th season with several membership categories available including Associate Member with a donation up to $24, Regular Member with a donation of $25, Contributing Member with a donation of $50, Sustaining Member with a donation of $100, Patron with a donation of $250, Benefactor with a donation of $500, and Sponsor with a donation of $1,000. All donations to the Friends of Music Society should be made payable to Friends of Music and mailed to P.O. Box 213, Kennett, Mo., 63857.

For further information on donations contact the same mailing address or (573) 888-6396.

The Society's Board of Directors include Jack Astrachan, Anita Blackmon, Mindy Brown, Marilyn Caldwell, Glenda Deeter, Mary Lynn Jones - Wright, John T. McMullan, Jules Mercier, Pamela Jones Mercier, Libby Mobley, Anne Moyer, Nancy Rogers, Bill Walsh, and Joyce Walsh.