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Music Makers bring polka, big-band sound to Middletown

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By Ted Cox, Staff Writer 6:08 PM Tuesday, January 31, 2012

MIDDLETOWN — The First Fridays concert series has brought a variety of acts to the First United Methodist Church in its six seasons, but never a band that plays polka music.

That changes Friday when the Music Makers visit Middletown for the one-hour noontime concert. About a fifth of the Dayton area band’s music is polka, and most of its music will inspire the crowd to dance.

“We mix it up with a big-band sound,” said Ralph Saum, the band’s leader who plays the clarinet and saxophone. “We’ll play tunes from the Jimmy Dorsey era and Benny Goodman era, and some more current tunes, maybe a little bit of Latin.

The band has 10 male members and one female, Vicki Youngman, who sings and plays the banjo.

It is the first time the band has appeared in First Fridays, although some members have played with other groups at First United Methodist and other locations in Middletown.

Drummer Chuck Spencer has played at the church about half a dozen times with various bands.

“I like it, because there always is a good crowd there,” said the retired aerospace worker from Centerville. “There’s always a couple hundred people. ... I like the whole setting there. We’re up on the stage. The big organ is behind us there, and there’s a nice piano right off the stage, which we use.”

It was Spencer who recommended Music Makers to Mary Ellen Clinard, the concert series coordinator and worship director at First United Methodist. And it was an easy sell. “All the bands he plays with are really good,” Clinard said.

In addition to the free concert, the church will have the art of Emily Morgan Bales on display. People can look at the artwork from 5 to 9 p.m., the same time the nearby Pendleton Art Center will hold its monthly First Friday event. Visitors to the church also can see and play the pipe organ.

“We’re just trying to all be one big, everybody-come-downtown group,” Clinard said.

Funding for the concert series is made possible through funds from the Middletown Community Foundation, the Barnitz Fund, the Miriam G. Knoll Charitable Foundation and the congregation of First United Methodist.

Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5245 or Ted.Cox@coxinc.com.

First Fridays concert series

What: Music Makers, an 11-member band from Greater Dayton

Where: First United Methodist Church, 120 S. Broad St. Middletown

When: Noon to 1 p.m.

Cost: Free

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