Anne Murray Tour

Anne Murray

JSO to hit the road with Ann Murray

The orchestra will back the singer at seven concerts in Michigan and Illinois.

By Dave Hoger
Jackson Citizen Patroit
Staff Writer
Wednesday November 28, 2001

There will be a definite Jackson connection that goes beyond location when Canadian songstress Anne Murray performs Dec. 8 at Jackson Community College. And when she performs in East Lansing and Kalamazoo and Flint and Benton Harbor and Naperville, IL.
     The Jackson Symphony Orchestra will back Murray for seven, concerts in 12 days on the Midwest leg of her Christmas concert tour.
     The first concert involving the JSO is Thursday night at the Wharton Center on the Michigan State University campus.
     JSO maestro Stephen Osmond isn't one to miss an opportunity to brag, but he admits this is more a matter of convenience.
     "What it does is save them the hassle of setting up a group in every different town , said Os mond, who praises Murray as hav- ing "a wonderful 'Instrument" ill her voice.
     The symphony'. is sending 37 of its musicians on the road with Murray, whose Christmas show weaves her big hits (among them "Snowbird," "You Needed Me" and "Could I Have This Dance?') with traditional holiday classics.
     "I'm excited about it. I think it's going to be fun," said Tom Spring of Jackson, a second, trumpet player who has been a member of the symphony for 15 years.
     He describes a concert tour of this caliber as being on "a different level ... a different audience," with the symphony playing a "different style of music."
     Oddly enough, Murray's producers signed the symphony without, ever hearing it perform, a decision based in part on the JSO's previous tours, with Mannheim Steamroller and Manhattan Transfer, said Cindy Allen, director of cultural affairs at JCC.
     Murray's tour has become one of the hottest concert tickets this season. The JCC date has been sold out for months.
     "The last two months, we've been referring people to Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo and Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor," Allen said. "At this point, we don't know if anyone has any tickets left."
     Following Thursday night's concert at MSU, the JSO backs Murray for performances at Macomb Community College (Friday), Naperville, 111. (Sunday), Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo (Dec. 5), the Flint Cultural Center (Dec. 7), JCC (Dec. 8) and Lake Michigan College (Dec. 9)

- Reach reporter Dave Hoger at dhoger@citpat.com or 517-768-4971.
borrowed from Jackson Citizen Patroit
Wednesday November 28, 2001 (section A, page 1)