Tales from the Mideast
October 30, 2010
January 12, 2012
Michael Alongi began the study of music at the age of six under the tutelage of his father, Vincent Alongi, one of the Midwest’s foremost accordion instructors. As a working musician versed in a myriad of styles, Mr. Alongi performs in a variety of musical settings including solo dates, engagements with jazz groups, dance bands, recording studio sessions and symphony orchestras. He has appeared in concert with former Tonight show trumpeter and conductor, Doc Severinsen. A recent Ravinia Festival appearance featured him as accompanist to Broadway Star, Patti LuPone, in a performance of Kurt Weill pieces along with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 2007, he occupied the accordion chair in the premier performance of the Stephen Schwartz musical Geppetto and Son.
Mr. Alongi’s roles with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra have been both as a soloist and as part of the ensemble. Other symphony dates include performances as soloist with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, the Paderewski Symphony at Chicago’s Symphony Center, and the Chicago Grant Park Symphony. As a composer and arranger, he has produced and performed on numerous television and radio commercials. With his CD, Freshly Squeezed, Mr. Alongi presents the accordion in a jazz framework and explores arrangements featuring the accordion’s ability to blend with other instruments, often assuming their tonal characteristics.
As an instructor, he conducts clinics and teaches privately along with his wife, Joan, at their studio in Rockford, IL.
 Scott Chachula is a veteran performer in the Chicago suburbs and state line area, Scott Chachula has been entertaining Rockford audiences for over 20 years appearing on numerous occasions as a guest soloist with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra, the Bach Chamber Choir, the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center, the Elgin Opera and Fresco Opera. His musical theater, credits include The Clock Tower Dinner Theater, The Lincolnshire Marriot Theater, New American Theater, Starlight and Studio Theaters at Rock Valley College and the Rockford Dance Company.
Scott’s singing talents include a variety of genres from opera (most recently as Romeo in “Romeo and Juliette” with Fresco Opera) to oratorio (as soloist in the Highland Community College performance of the “Messiah”) to musical theater and jazz. In the last two months Scott and his singing partner, Dennis Johnson, have performed their newly created duo “One Less Tenor” at the Mayor’s Arts Awards, the Coronado Theater, and at Music on Main.
Also an accomplished actor and orator, Scott has appeared in industrial films, television, and radio commercials and in many acting roles on stage. He has provided narration and voice over work for training videos for several businesses including HSBC
|
