Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue!

June 3, 2016 Music, Showcase No comments

The Sea Notes Celebrate our independence

BY: JEFFERY STITES

The Sea Notes Choral Society has been helping Southport with its official North Carolina Fourth of July celebrations since 1974. This year’s shows, Saturday, June 25 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, June 26 at 3:00 pm at the Odell Williamson Auditorium on the campus of Brunswick Community College, will open the Sea Notes 42nd year as an organization. And they are in the hands of a relative newcomer to both Southport and the Sea Notes.

Lois Moore moved to Southport after retiring two years ago. After a 33-year career as a music educator and musician in and around Niagara Falls, New York, it wasn’t long before Moore was back in the business in her new home town. She joined Sea Notes as a soprano singer in September of last year and in April Moore accepted the position of Director of Worship and Music Arts at St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southport. It was around that time she was also asked to direct this year’s Sea Notes Patriotic Concert.

“Lois’ experience as a college music/ voice professor has been most evident as she carefully prepares us for a rather unique show. It will be a choral presentation but with a lot of nuances,” said Sea Notes President Jim Nelson. “We’re hoping for a full house both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.”

Moore has based her musical selections upon the fact that people have come to Coastal Carolina from all over. She says her song choices highlight this, will the chorus summing it up with Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere.” The show will feature influences from many locals and styles.

“The American Patriot concert has a little bit of blues, a little bit of jazz, songs from the Great American Songbook, and a healthy dose of flag waving patriotic tunes,” Moore explained. “It’s a musical journey across the United States with stops in Chicago, Kansas City and New Orleans. It features songs about specific states, the Mississippi River, and the railroads that crossed the country. There are songs of North Carolina and the surrounding area featuring our guest soloist Rodney Ax- som.” Axsom is a local real estate broker and member of Coastal Carolina Productions who also records as a singer and songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee.

“The concert is structured like a Broadway Revue with variety as its design. It moves fast and provides a lot of entertain- ment in a little bit of time. The show features chorus, small groups, and soloists, even an Elvis Presley impersonator. It is accompanied by a small band, much like a ‘pit orchestra’ ac- companying a Broadway show and features songs with trumpet and fiddle,” Moore said.

While she said she hopes the concert helps get everyone in the mood for Southport’s famous Fourth of July celebration, Moore said the show is extra special to her as she is the moth- er of eighteen-year-old, PFC Madison James Hall, United States Marine Corp stationed in Camp LeJeune, NC.
Admission to Sea Notes concerts is free of charge but donations are gladly accepted both at the performances as through sponsorships.

“We have a very large group of supporters, ‘Friends of Sea Notes’, who contribute significantly to our cause, said Nelson. “They are always listed in our programs and they obtain passes for preferential seating at the concerts. We would be in deep trouble without them.”