Cal Poly Pomona Music Department 3801 W. Temple Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768 Phone: 909-869-3554 Fax: 909-869-4145 Website: http://www.cpp.edu/~class/music/
For Details, Contact: Teresa Kelly, Music Department Publicist For Release: October 27, 2017 Email: [email protected] Phone: 909-869-3554 Cal Poly Pomona Department of Music Honors Ella Fitzgerald with Two Fall Events Page 1 of 2
The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, Verve Label Group and Universal Music Enterprises have planned a year-long Ella 100 centennial celebration honoring one of the most beloved and influential vocalists of all time, Ella Fitzgerald. Throughout 2017 to April 2018, the 100th anniversary of Fitzgerald’s birthday (April 25, 1917) will be celebrated across the world with prestigious exhibits, a trove of new music releases and myriad independent tributes and concerts. A continually updated list of events can be found at EllaFitzgeraldFoundation.org
Joining in the celebration, the Cal Poly Pomona Department of Music will celebrate the life, music and charitable legacy of Ella Fitzgerald, the 13-time GRAMMY® winner and Recording Academy® Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, with two Fall 2017 events.
The Cal Poly Pomona Philharmonic Orchestra with Polytonix Vocal Jazz Ensemble will present a combined concert “Salute to Ella Fitzgerald and All That Jazz” on Thursday, November 16th at 8:00pm in the Music Recital Hall. Tickets are $10.
The Cal Poly Pomona Jazz Band, Jazz Combo and Polytonix Vocal Jazz Ensemble will also present a combined concert “Centenary Celebration of Jazz” featuring the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonius Monk. These three jazz greats were all born in 1917 and all made major contributions to the world of jazz. The concert will be presented on Tuesday, November 28th at 8:00pm in the Music Recital Hall. Tickets are $10.
Tickets for both events are available online at csupomona.tix.com or the Dr. Andrew G. Chong Box Office #24-188 Monday-Friday from 12 to 1pm and one hour before show time. Driving, parking and walking to the recital hall directions can be found on our website at http://www.cpp.edu/~class/music/contact-information.shtml
About Ella Fitzgerald and The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation
Dubbed "The First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. In her lifetime, she sold more than 40 million albums and received most every honor a performer could dream of winning, including the Kennedy Center Honor (1979), the National Medal of Arts (1987), Cal Poly Pomona Department of Music Honors Ella Fitzgerald with Two Fall Events Page 2 of 2
France's Commander of Arts and Letters (1990), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992) and 13 Grammy Awards. In 2007, the United States Postal Service honored Fitzgerald with a postage stamp.
In her six-decade long career, the Queen of Jazz recorded more than 200 albums and roughly 2,000 songs, making her the most recorded female – and the second most recorded – performer in history. Among those recordings are works with some of history's greatest musicians and legendary songwriters.
Fitzgerald's distinct style has influenced multiple generations of singers and her work transcends generations and musical genres. She had an extraordinary vocal range and flexibility and possessed a preternatural gift for pitch, rhythmic sense and flawless diction. Immensely versatile, she could sing it all from jazz and bebop to ballads, swing, pop and rock. With an unparalleled ability for mimicry and “scat” singing, Fitzgerald also produced melodic lines that put her in the category of great instrumental improvisers. Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless.
Fitzgerald performed her last concert at Carnegie Hall in 1991. She passed away due to complications from Diabetes, dying in her Beverly Hills home on June 15, 1996.
The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation was created and funded in 1993 by Ella Fitzgerald in order to fulfill her desires to use the fruits of her success to help people of all races, cultures and beliefs. Fitzgerald hoped to make their lives more rewarding, and she wanted to foster a love of reading, as well as a love of music. In addition, she hoped to provide assistance to the at-risk and disadvantaged members of our communities - assistance that would enable them to achieve a better quality of life. The Board of Directors of the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation seeks to continue Ella Fitzgerald's goals by making charitable grants serving four major areas of interest: Creating educational and other opportunities for children; fostering a love and knowledge of music; including assistance to students of music the provision of health care; food, shelter and counseling to those in need and specific areas of medical care and research with an emphasis on Diabetes, vision problems and heart disease.
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