CRESTVIEW — Members of the 280-piece high school band joined residents in preparations to welcome 36 visitors from Crestview’s French sister city, Noirmoutier.

The Big Red Machine will perform “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem, during a presentation of the American and French flags at Friday’s football game against Niceville.

Finding arrangements of the rousing anthem took some research, stemming to the last visit by a Noirmoutier contingent in 2009. At the time, band director Jody Dunn turned to his predecessor, Mayor David Cadle, in his quest for the sheet music. Cadle, in turn, turned to his son Ben, a musician in the Army Ceremonial Band in Washington, D.C.

“He didn’t have it, but he pointed me in the right direction to find it,” Cadle said. “I contacted the West Point band library. They emailed it to me. I had it the next day.”

Now, the arrangement is in the Crestview High band’s music library. With each subsequent visit by a contingent from Crestview’s sister city, a new class of Big Red Machine members can add the anthem to their repertoire.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Big Red Machine to perform French national anthem for guests (VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — Warriors Hall will erupt into an evening of lively big band and jazz music when the Friends of the Arts present “A Swinging Serenade” on Nov. 3. The concert, which features the Downbeat Jazz Orchestra, marks the first anniversary of the arts group’s acquisition of a grand piano for the city-owned auditorium, and the cherry-wood instrument will feature prominently.

Dick Reinlie, owner of UpBeat Music in Crestview, and Will Corbin formed the 17-piece orchestra as the Playground Big Band, music director Michael Walker said.

“They were classmates at Choctaw a while ago,” Walker said. “The band got its genesis at Playground Music in Fort Walton Beach. We felt it was time for us to expand our horizons beyond the Playground area. The name was a little bit localized.”

While attendees at Saturday’s concert will have many opportunities to cut the rug to Hit Parade swing standards during the concert, the orchestra’s repertoire extends beyond tunes of the great band era, Walker said.

“We do a lot of the classic … themes that people associate with big band music — the Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, those (kinds) of things — but we also do some of the specialized big band and jazz music,” he said. “The music of Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, some of the more significant weight pieces. They’re more like serious compositions.”

Like many bands of the 1930s and ’40s, vocals are an integral part of the Downbeat Jazz Orchestra.

“Our singer is really the centerpiece of our band,” Walker said. “We feature the vocals of Gina Walker.”

Saundra Daggs, known as the First Lady of Crestview Jazz, will join the group, as a special guest, for several numbers.

“It’s going to be a really fantastic night of music,” Friends of the Arts concert chair Mary Mancini, wife of the late national touring big band leader Michael Mancini, said. “There’s no way anybody will be able to keep their feet still when these guys start playing.”

Want to go?

The Crestview Friends of the Arts presents the Downbeat Jazz Orchestra in “A Swinging Serenade,” a night of big band and jazz music, 7 p.m. Nov. 3 at Warriors Hall in the Whitehurst Municipal Building.

Tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for students, at UpBeat Music, Azteca Mexican Restaurant, Journey Java Connection and Lewis & Company Jewelers.

Call Rae Schwartz, 585-5672, for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Nov. 3 concert celebrates first anniversary of grand piano arrival

CRESTVIEW — After the Crestview High School band marched away with multiple trophies at the Battle of the Border band competition in Valdosta, Ga., folks throughout the tri-state area learned what the 280-piece band’s north Okaloosa County fans already knew: The Big Red Machine’s a winner.

Crestview’s band took home trophies for Best Music, Best General Effect and — out of 18 Florida, Alabama and Georgia bands that competed — First Runner-Up, being edged out of first place by the Tallahassee Redcoats, band supporter Jennifer Cadenhead said.

“The Big Red Machine scored high by receiving straight superior ratings,” she said. “In the preliminary round, we took first place in our class, first place for our division and qualified for the finals that evening.

“They went to Wild Adventures (an amusement park) after the competition,” Cadenhead said. “There was certainly steam to release because there was a lot of pressure. There were 18 bands during the preliminary and the finals came down to eight bands.”

The Big Red Machine figures prominently in her family, Cadenhead said. Her sister was in the band’s color guard; her brother, Carmine Harrell, is the band’s current assistant drum major; and she’s a fan of the organization herself.

“I’ve been to every Friday Night Lights and almost every away game over the past six years,” she said.

Cadenhead said if fans still have not seen the band’s show woven around Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, “The Phantom of the Opera,” there is one more opportunity.

“The cadence and the visual effect (fill) you with admiration for the talent portrayed by our young performers,” she said.

“You still have time to come see our show and join in the excitement at Crestview High School Friday night, Nov. 2, at 7p.m., when Crestview Bulldogs go against Niceville Eagles and we celebrate senior night for Crestview High School.

“This is the last CHS football game and the last Big Red Machine performance for the year.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Big Red Machine scores multiple wins in regional competition

CRESTVIEW — Take a brace of dolphins, add a festively decorated palm tree, a splash of gulf water and the insignia of the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and you’ve got a first-place winning T-shirt design for this year’s Jingle Bell Jog.

That’s what Crestview High School senior Heather Sasser hoped, and Thursday afternoon, her hopes came true. Special Forces Association Chapter VII representatives visited art teacher Laurel Breaux’s classroom to present Heather with her first-place award, a new Apple iPad2.

Steve Tuttle, race director for the 34th annual Jingle Bell Jog 10K race and 5K fun run, said, “What Heather did was design the logo for this year’s shirts,” Tuttle said. “We wanted to involve the community in the design. Niceville (High School) had some good entries and Fort Walton Beach has some good ones, but Crestview beat them out.”

As Heather’s parents, Terri and Mike Sasser beamed, Tuttle and Mark Patry also presented her with a certificate of appreciation, a Green Berets T-shirt and a 7th Special Forces Group unit crest decal.

Last year, about 1,200 people participated in the Jingle Bell Jog, Tuttle said. He expects more than 2,000 participants for this year’s event, which begins at 8 a.m. Dec. 8 at Uptown Station in Fort Walton Beach.

“All the funds we raise go back into supporting the soldiers and their families of the 7th Special Forces,” Tuttle said. “One hundred percent of the proceeds go to the 7th Special Forces. There are no paid positions (in the Special Forces Association). We’re all volunteers.”

Heather expressed her appreciation for the recognition, and added gratitude for her teacher and parents’ support.

“Thank you, Ms. Breaux, for inspiring me, and thank you, Mom and Dad, for always being there for me,” she said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview High senior wins design competition