Five by Design©Andrea Canter

Can “Club Swing” avoid the fate of the historic clubs of the 30s, 40s and 50s?  On October 21st (2 pm) at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, the acclaimed vocal ensemble, Five by Design will challenge the wrecking ball in this fictional production. The singers will be backed by the Robert Baca Big Band as they take us on a musical journey with their fresh arrangements of beloved tunes of the great era of songwriting, from the frenetic-paced opening of Benny Goodman's "Bugle Call Rag" to the blockbuster finale of Louis Prima's "Sing, Sing, Sing."

Five by Design

Five By Design came together in1986. The group’s familial ties include brothers Terrence and Kurt Niska; Kurt’s wife Lorie Niska; and childhood collaborator, Michael Swedberg, along with Sheridan Zuther. The creative team is supported by in-house artist representatives Alton Accola and Midge Swedberg. The technical team includes lighting director Paul Heim and sound engineer Phil Henrickson, who has been with the group since 1987. A frequent collaborator in recent years has been the great saxophonist, Richie Cole.

Throughout their productions, the ensemble provides more than a passing glance into a world that is rich with timeless music, stylish fashions, and entertainment the whole family can enjoy. As the creative talent behind Radio Days, A Winter’s Evening, Stay Tuned, Cool and Swingin', and The Ultra Lounge Show, in addition to Club Swing, Five By Design's productions make them a favorite with Symphony Pops audiences and Performing Arts Centers across the country. According to the Dayton Philharmonic, “Few, if any, performing groups have matched Five By Design’s vitality, innovation, and total grasp of an impressive variety of musical and dramatic idioms.”

Five By Design has worked with outstanding orchestrators including Lovell Ives, Willis Delony, Maury Laws, Brian Shaw, and Andrew Neesley. While the vocal arrangements are the creative work of Five By Design, their orchestrators bring those charts to life with unparalleled expertise. National media exposure includes National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition–Sunday” and “Swingin’ Down the Lane,” along with a feature story in Symphony magazine; Five By Design has also appeared as guest artists on John Meyer's Bringin' Out the Beast.  With a touring itinerary averaging 60-plus performances each season, their talents have taken them across the country, into Canada, and as far away as the Bosphorus International Music Festival in Istanbul, Turkey.

During the past season, Five By Design toured extensively with Richie Cole. In a retrospective of Cole’s 40+-year career, the tour included performances with the Vancouver, Spokane, Topeka, Wheeling, and Columbus Symphony Orchestras. Five By Design will visit seven cities on an East Coast tour with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops in December.

Club Swing

The Baltimore Symphony commissioned Five By Design to produce a swing-themed show which led to the 2001 premiere of Club Swing. The show follows the rise and fall of the big band era from 1937-1955 at the fictional Hotel Crosby, “where the music’s hot, the drinks are cool, and the legend lives forever.” The soundtrack for the project was recorded with a big band led by Willis Delony, Five By Design’s frequent pianist and conductor.

Whether performing their seductive arrangement of Cole Porter’s “Begin the Beguine,” the madcap parody of Spike Jones’ “Cocktails for Two,” or the lush romance of Nat King Cole’s “Mona Lisa,” Five By Design enchants audiences by deftly and effortlessly blending music and theatrics, displaying the many facets of entertainment that were all the rage when swing was king. Their rich, warm harmonies are a perfect complement to the lyrics of master songwriters from the Gershwins to Johnny Mercer.

The Burnsville Performing Arts Center is located at 12600 Nicollet Avenue South in Burnsville. Tickets ($15-$40) are available from the Box Office at 952-895-4680 or Tickemaster.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites