Under the direction of Maestro Marko Marcinko, The Scranton Jazz Festival Big Band will perform holiday favorites at the Scranton Jazz Festival Christmas Spectacular concert and toy drive on Sunday, December 8, at The Ritz Theater.
Photo Credit — Submitted
SCRANTON — This new event is sure to become a beloved holiday tradition in the Electric City. The community is invited to the inaugural Scranton Jazz Festival Christmas Spectacular on Sunday, December 8, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Ritz Theater.
This holiday concert features the Emmy-nominated Scranton Jazz Festival Big Band with special guest singers, dancers, wonderful narration, a visit from Santa, and a toy drive.
Under the direction of Maestro Marko Marcinko, the Scranton Jazz Festival Big Band will perform holiday favorites including musical selections from A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi, and The Swingin’ Jazz Nutcracker Suite, an adaptation of the traditional music from The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky arranged by Shorty Rogers, Billy Stayhorn and Duke Ellington.
A distinguished group of artists will join the stage as special guest vocalists, including Kaitlyn Lusk, Lorenzo Pugliese, Chris DiMattio, and Amy Banks.
- Kaitlyn Lusk (mezzo soprano) is best known as the voice for Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings Symphony, performing with more than 50 of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras and world-renowned conductors. Her voice is also featured in the movies Gladiator and Titanic.
- A Scranton native, Lorenzo Pugliese is a singer, songwriter and actor, touring nationally with “The Cher Show” as Sonny Bono. His first national tour was with “SpongeBob the Musical”, where he portrayed SpongeBob. A graduate of Scranton High School and The University of the Arts, he has been involved in theater and dance for as long as he can remember.
- Chris DiMattio, vocalist and local “Sinatra Crooner,” has been performing on stage for more than 40 years. From local musicals and plays to concerts and festivals, he loves to sing in the tradition of Sinatra, Bennett, Martin, and Darin, to name a few. An active member of the community, DiMattio is the President/Chairperson of La Festa Italiana, and past president of UNICO National.
- Amy Banks, a professional actor, singer and television personality, is a Minnesota native who now resides in Lancaster. She has been a featured performer at Disney World, The American Music Theater, and The Penumbra Theater, to name a few. Embracing her love for jazz, Motown and soul music, Banks has released numerous recordings.
Longtime Scranton Jazz Festival emcee Lawrence Pugliese will serve as the narrator. Lawrence Pugliese is well known for his longtime service as Scranton Jazz Festival emcee and former ECTV personality. He is a professor at Lackawanna College, and co-host of the Troubadours and Raconteurs show with E.W. Conundrum Demure on Radio Free Brooklyn.
In this season of giving, guests are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys to benefit We Care & Respect (WRC). Toys will be distributed locally to children in underserved communities.
Tickets to the Scranton Jazz Festival Christmas Spectacular are on sale now at www.theritztheater.com. Tickets are $35 for reserved seating, and $25 for general admission. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.
Scranton Jazz Festival Big Band brings all their energy and talent to the stage in Scranton on Sunday. In 2022, the Scranton Jazz Festival Big Band received a Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Award for its TV production of the Swinging Jazz Nutcracker Suite. The program also earned its Emmy nomination that year!
