On Friday, May 17th, the Sound Dunes Swing Ensemble (SDSE) performed at the student Future Farmers of America (FFA) Fundraiser. The concert/dance was held at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich.  Cape Cod Tech’s FFA award-winning Nursery Landscaping Team had previously competed with and bested all other schools in MA and is now sending that team on to compete in the upcoming 2019 National competition in Indianapolis.  Money raised through this event went toward helping to finance that effort.

Attendees were impressed by the students in attendance and praised them as being polite, helpful and dedicated to the education that were getting from their teachers and their school.  Others commented how much they enjoyed watching how much fun the teens were having trying to dance to the swing music that their parents (read “grandparents”) used to!  A number of the students even remarked how much they enjoyed listening to the earlier style music.

In deference to the average (younger) age of the audience, SDSE decided to perform “something new” in addition to their usual repertoire of music of the 30s, 40s, and 50s with some more recent pieces hat might be more recognizable to the crowd.  Among those newer pieces was Bohemian Rhapsody (originally performed by the rock group Queen), and the David Rose Instrumental “The Stripper” (1958) which can be heard in movies as recent as “Slap Shot” (1977) and “The Full Monty” (1997).   We have attached a video of the Sound Dunes version of the latter selection here for you to enjoy.

FFA students are continuing to try to raise money for their trip to the Indianapolis competition by doing yard cleanups, light landscaping, and other odd jobs.  If you would like to help them out and contribute to their well-earned effort, you might want to contact the school to find out their availability to do this type of work for you.

On Sunday, May 11th, The Sound Dunes Swing Ensemble (SDSE) performed during a fundraiser sponsored by The Alzheimer’s Family Support Center (AFSC) of Cape Cod. The band performed on the Harwich Bandstand in Brooks Park which served as the focal point for the event fundraiser and Walk.  The weather cooperated for the first time in years since this event has been held, but band members were still a bit chilly on the bandstand (check out the photos)!

The crowd for the fundraiser not only enjoyed great music by the Sound Dunes, but also a Salsa dance demonstration and instruction session and stimulating speeches by a number of guest speakers.  After the walk, the participants enjoyed an excellent free BBQ staffed by volunteer Ed McManus which included hot dog and hamburger refreshments.