COURT HOUSE — The Youth Opera of South Jersey will join Linda Gentille & The Jersey Shore Pops as they make their debut at the historic Ocean City Music Pier on Memorial Day weekend. The show will take place May 24 at 7:00 p.m., when they will present “America” starring Linda Gentille & The Jersey Shore pops. This will be the second consecutive year the group has performed with the popular orchestra.
The Youth Opera of South Jersey (aka YO!) has been training kids in the art of vocal performance for over 15 years. They are staffed by a team of professionals who have worked in the business and continue to stay on top of the latest performance techniques. YO! was originally started as a tool to expose serious voice students to opera. Today YO! exposes kids to all aspects of musical performance with such past shows as “Les Miserable”, ‘Sweeney Todd’ and this year’s Cole Porter Revue “You’re The Top!” which promises to be a thrilling night of the songs we all know and love. “You’re The Top” will be presented twice on June 22 at the Moorlyn Family Theatre on the Ocean City Boardwalk.
The conductor of the Jersey Shore Pops comments, “We are so excited to once again invite the Youth Opera of South Jersey to join us. They were such a big hit with our audiences last year and we know that the audiences in Ocean City will love them just as much. Many of the members of the vocal performance group are residents of Ocean City which makes this concert all the more exciting.”
This big band concert will tribute America Heroes and will feature primarily the music of Glenn Miller & George Gershwin. The concert will also feature a special performance from the Youth Opera of South Jersey. Some of the featured songs will include music of the Glenn Miller Orchestra including: “In The Mood”, “Little Brown Jug”, “String of Pearls”, “St, Louis Blues”, “Moonlight Serenade” and Gentille’s original arrangement of Gershwin’s most famous piece, “Rhapsody in Blue.”
The board members of The Jersey Shore Pops are very excited to expand their fan base with this Ocean City debut.
The president of the orchestra, Dr. Nick Holland, adds, “We are grateful to the City of Ocean City for giving us this opportunity to bring our music to the city. Our music director and conductor Linda Gentille has performed in Ocean City for years with her solo concerts and now our orchestra has many Ocean City attendees.”
Jersey Shore Pops is a New Jersey non-profit corporation and is comprised of professional musicians from all over South Jersey the orchestra was founded in 2009 by conductor and music director Linda Gentille. Although they have only been in operation for 4 years, they have been able to support their concert budget with ticket sales.
Music Director for the orchestra Gentille comments, “We are very proud of the orchestra members for their dedication and commitment to keeping the momentum going this season. We had over 5000 tourists and residents attend our shows this season and the guest artists and soloists received such thunderous ovations throughout the season. We look forward to bringing our high energy shows to residents and visitors in Ocean City next year.”
What has made the Jersey Shore Pops the most successful new big band orchestra at the Jersey Shore is the conductor Linda Gentille’s her unique on stage showmanship. As a major headliner, she has performed on stages around the world.
Pops president Dr. Nick Holland sums it up, “Gentille’s unique musical style of conducting while performing amazing feats on the piano has made this a must see show in Cape May. Her unique and original orchestrations set her apart from all the other pianist conductors in the nation.”
As an in-demand performer in her own right,Gentille dazzles audiences around the world with her beauty, charisma and musical virtuosity. Growing up in Pacific Palisades, California, Linda began her musical studies taking classes with her Father at Roger Williams’ studio in Los Angeles.
When not conducting The Jersey Shore Pops, Gentille arranges music and performs with her own big band orchestra on luxury cruise lines and in performing arts centers across the United States. Gentille conducts and performs over 75 concerts each year with hundreds of different musicians nationwide. Her unique ability to adapt to various music styles from Classical to Jazz has made her a sought after concert act in performing arts centers around the world.
Tickets for the shows at the Ocean City Music Pier range from $25-$40 for adults and a special $20 price for students under 12. The $40 tickets will include a VIP reception and the prime front section seats. To purchase tickets to “AMERICA” starring Linda Gentille & The Jersey Shore Pops, please call 1- 800-838-3006 or go online at www.JerseyShorePops.org. You can view the seating chart online and all seats are reserved seating on a first come first serve basis.