The Wharton County Junior College Band will perform "The Rat Pack" at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Horton Foote Theatre on the Wharton campus. Rehearsing for the concert are, from left, bassist Riley Henderson of Wharton and guitarist Sebastian Perez of Richmond.
WHARTON, TEXAS – The Wharton County Junior College Band’s upcoming concert will feature songs made famous by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. “The Rat Pack” concert is scheduled for 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Horton Foote Theatre in the Duson-Hansen Fine Arts Building on the Wharton campus. Admission is free and the concert is open to the public.
WCJC Band Instructor Joe Waldrop said he chose this particular genre of music since it provides his band with a chance to accompany live vocalists. Community singers Mike Harbough and Mike Henderson will serve as guest singers for the concert, portraying Sinatra, Martin and Davis.
“Playing when you only have accompaniment is a lot harder and takes more concentration than when you have the melody,” Waldrop said. “This makes the students listen closely and count their parts instead of just playing when it feels right.”
Waldrop noted that the concert’s selections are “exact duplicates” of the original tunes and should be instantly recognizable to the audience. He’s anticipating good response from the audience based upon a prior concert featuring songs from the The Andrews Sisters, a 1940s-era trio.
“Everyone seemed to like that concert so I thought I would give the male crooners a shot,” he said.
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