Sky View Center Celebrates! A Sunday Music Spectacular with CenterStage Presents Big Band Concert July 31, 2011

Sky View Center, Queens’ newest shopping center, continues their special event series – Sky View Celebrates! A Sunday Music Spectacular featuring CenterStage: The Queens Center for the Performing Arts. The big band concert will take attendees back in time as they enjoy music from the 30s and 40s - courtesy of Don Echoles-Conway and The Swingin’ Ray Abrams Big Band on Sunday, July 31st at 2:00 PM on level D.

The Borough of Queens, with its rich jazz history, has been home to some of the most influential jazz musicians in the world, including Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller and Dizzy Gillespie. Don Echoles-Conway will pay tribute to these talented individuals as he plays big band standards written and/or made famous by many of the jazz musicians that lived in Queens.

The Swingin’ Ray Abrams Big Band, a 17-member professional swing band, will also take the stage on Sunday to perform classic swing hits. The band’s pianist, Dotti Anita Taylor, is also a CenterStage faculty member and has played with the band since 2001.

Visitors can also stop by the recently opened Hershey’s Ice Cream, Sky Foods Supermarket and Famous Footwear, as well as other popular retailers, including Payless ShoeSource, Old Navy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Bob’s Discount Furniture, Marshalls and Target (including a Starbucks & Pizza Hut Express). Additional dining options include Applebee’s Grill & Bar and Chuck E. Cheese’s, with Five Guy’s Burgers and Fries set to open this summer.

The show-stopping music series, which is held on Sundays, features a variety of jazz, classical string quartets, piano and percussion performances by the talented students and all-star faculty of CenterStage, a growing organization offering children and adults in Queens the opportunity to bring music and the arts into their lives.