Monday, February 25, 2008
PRINCESS ANNE, MD – Enjoy the soulful sounds of Motown at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Gala on Saturday, March 1, at 6:30 p.m. in the Student Services Center Ballroom on campus.
“The Gala Chairpersons, Ernest and Elsa Satchell of UMES; Princess Anne Town Commissioner Dennis Williams and community leaders Bonnie Luna and Jackie Cassidy, and the members of the committee have volunteered their time and talent to make this year’s Gala the most fantastic black tie event on the Shore,” said Veronique Diriker, director of development, UMES.
The black tie affair offers dinner accompaniment by students and graduates of the UMES Music Department, dancing, performances by the UMES Drama Society, a five course gourmet dinner by the UMES Hotel and Restaurant Management students and faculty and over 70 exciting live and silent auction items donated by local businesses.
Dinner music will be provided by the UMES Jazz Combo, the Woodwind Quintet and the Saxophone Quartet. Selections from jazz musicians Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Miles Davis can be heard. Classical pieces from composers Ludwig Von Beethoven and Joseph Haydn have been selected for the evening.
Street performances by the UMES Drama Society add a flare to cocktail hour while they hold their main performance “Motown” after dinner. “The students are taking a pause in the preparations for this year’s spring dinner theatre, ‘Blues N BBQ,’ to reconstruct some of the feature numbers from last year’s show, ‘Motown & Mo’, for the Gala,” said Dr. Della Dameron-Johnson, director of the UMES Drama Society, assistant professor of the Department of English and Modern Language. “They seem excited to be able to perform it for a different audience.” Music from Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Temptations, Patty LaBelle and Stevie Wonder will be performed.
UMES’ Hotel and Restaurant Management students under the tutelage of Chef Ralston Whittingham and Dr. Ernest Boger will prepare a five course gourmet dinner. “It’s all about the students,” said Chef Whittingham. “It’s a student driven event with all of the 125 Hotel and Restaurant Management majors involved-each with a specific function. They take pride in this being their biggest annual event. From the process of developing the menu, purchasing the food, preparation and managing the affair, it is all orchestrated by the students.” This year’s student general manager is Angela Gary with Deborah Alston as the production manager.
Proceeds benefit student scholarships. For more information or for tickets to the UMES Gala, call 410-651-8142 or email Veronique Diriker, director of development, UMES, at vdiriker@umes.edu.
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Gail Stephens, assistant director, UMES Office of Pubic Relations, 410-651-7580, gcstephens@umes.edu.
Suzanne Waters Street, director, UMES Office of Public Relations, 410-621-2355, sstreet@umes.edu.
