On Saturday, February 11, the Sycamore Music Boosters is excited to welcome headliner the Eric Montzka Trio, Craig Mathey, Sycamore High School (SHS) Jazz Ensemble, SHS Jazz Choir, and a SHS String Ensemble as they host their 9th annual night of jazz and classical music entitled “A Note to Remember”. This fundraiser will be held at Blumen Gardens in Sycamore from 7:00pm – 11:00pm. Additionally, three talented musicians will be introduced and honored as our 2017 SHS Music Hall of Fame inductees. An elegant, sweet and savory hors d’oeuvres buffet and coffee bar will be included along with a raffle and silent auction of hundreds of gifts and prizes generously donated by local businesses.
Sycamore High School alumni and Chicagoland percussionist Eric Montzka has worked with a number of fantastic musicians, including John Scofield, Maynard Ferguson, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Karrin Alison, Chris Potter, Dave Douglas, Howard Levy and Von Freeman. He was a member of Patricia Barber’s quartet (1998-2010) and toured more than 25 countries over five continents and appeared on five recordings distributed by the Blue Note record label.
Eric Montzka
Eric holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Percussion Performance from Northern Illinois University. While enrolled at NIU he toured Switzerland for a week with the NIU Jazz Ensemble. He has also maintained an informal private lesson studio until 2013 and taught at Northbrook High School and Chicago’s Merit School of Music. Eric is a 2015 Sycamore Music Hall of Fame Inductee. At the Note to Remember event, Eric will lead his trio which features guitarist John Moulder and Larry Kohut on bass.
Craig Mathey has been a life-long Sycamore resident and a musician since age 10. He began his musical career by taking accordion lessons for one year, and from then on was a self-taught musician. At the age of 12 he started playing with a gospel group which honed his skills in improvising and ear training. At age 14 he taught himself to play the piano and electronic keyboards, and at age 18 joined a pop/country/wedding band call the Dick Sargent Review, performing with them until his mid-20s. Next, Craig formed a duo, with John Huber that performed throughout the area for over 8 years. In early 2003, Craig launched his lounge-lizard/soloist career, performing dinner and cocktail music. Currently, Craig can be found performing all your favorite styles of music on the piano and singing – pop, country, jazz, blues, and standards on weekends with a variety of other local musicians and at various restaurants and venues in the area.
Craig Mathey
The 2017 Sycamore High School Music Hall of Fame inductees will also be introduced at this event. Two Sycamore community members have been chosen as Advocate Award recipients and one community member will be receiving the Ovation Award; inductees will be announced soon. A separate induction ceremony including the unveiling of the updated 2017 trophy case is scheduled for February 11 in the Sycamore High School Auditorium at 2:30pm; the public is invited to attend and admission is free to this ceremony.
Sponsors for A Note to Remember currently include Northern Rehab Physical Therapy Specialists, Prairie View Animal Hospital, Dr. Todd Anderson – Oral & Maxillo Facial Surgeons of Northern Illinois, Law Office of Riley N. Oncken, InVironments Magazine, Shaw Media – the Daily Chronicle and the Midweek, Jamrah Middle Eastern Cuisine. Sponsorship opportunities are still available; please see our web site to download the sponsor form at http://www.SycamoreMusicBoosters.com.
A limited number of tickets are available for this adult-only event at $30.00 per person which includes musical entertainment, hors d’oeuvres, coffee bar, silent auction and raffle. A cash bar will also be available. Seating opens at 7:00 pm. Tickets are on sale now at the Sycamore High School main office, Northern Rehab Physical Therapy Specialists 3266 Resource Parkway office in DeKalb, Kar Fre Flowers, Shawn’s Coffee Shop, via E-mail at Note2Remember@gmail.com or by calling 815.751.8388. For more information, please visit http://www.SycamoreMusicBoosters.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.