CONCERT ASSOCIATION BEGINS DRIVE WITH NEW NAME, BIGGER SERIES

THE AUSTRALIAN BOYS CHOIR WILL PERFORM ON OCT. 2 AS PART OF CONCERT SERIES

The community concert association begins its 1993-94 membership drive this week with a new name, a new partnership and a new program series offering double the usual number of performances.

The former Cape Girardeau Community Concert Association has changed its name to the Southeast Missouri Concert Association, a move intended to broaden the organization's membership and appeal, said President Ed Kaiser.

"We're trying to branch out into Southeast Missouri more," he said.

There was concern that people in Jackson, for example, might feel excluded from the organization because Cape Girardeau was part of the name, Kaiser said.

"We're trying to include everyone in what we're doing," Kaiser said. "We're not trying to compete."

That was a reference to concert organizations in Sikeston, Malden and Perryville. The association has a free exchange agreement with those groups and with similar organizations in Carbondale, Paducah and Poplar Bluff.

It has been bringing world-class entertainers to Cape Girardeau for more than 62 years. Past concerts have included performances by George Shearing, the Trapp Family Singers, the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the New York Theatre Ballet.

In attempting to expand, the association has formalized its past working agreement with Southeast Missouri State University.

The university formerly paid an annual fee that helped underwrite the series, and allowed concert association members to attend three university-sponsored concerts for free.

In return, each member of the faculty and each student with an I.D. received a free ticket.

In the new joint venture, the university will not pay a fee but will underwrite part of the six-concert series. Faculty members no longer will receive a free ticket, though students with I.D.'s will.

In exchange for the latter, the concert association will not pay a fee for using Academic Auditorium.

In another new tie-in, memberships to the association will be sold through the university.

Martin Jones, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said the agreement primarily allows the two groups to coordinate the scheduling of the concerts, ensuring variety in the performers.

That coordination sometimes was lacking in the past, Jones said.

He pointed to the diversity in the new series, and called the formalized agreement "mutually beneficial to the community, the concert association and the university."

The price of the expanded series will remain the same: $30 per adult, $15 per student and $65 for families (two adults and children under 18).

The upcoming concerts will begin in October with an appearance by the Australian Boys Choir, a group heralded as the foremost children's chorus of the country. The choir, which includes boys ages 8-18, is more than 50 years old.

Later in October, the chorus will be followed to town by the Suk Chamber Orchestra, a 14-member ensemble headed by Josef Suk. The Czech violinist is the great-grandson of Antonin Dvorak.

They will perform music from Central Europe.

In November, the Burning Feet Dance Company, an eight-member troupe known for its invention and physicality, will come to Academic Auditorium, site of all the performances.

The Vienna Strauss Ensemble, consisting of five women billed as "lovely to look at, delightful to hear," will bring the sounds of 19th century Austria to an audience in February.

The ensemble plays the music of Schubert, Mozart and its namesakes among others in the exacting style of the Viennese school.

The following month, it's the Mac Frampton Trio, spotlighting a pop and jazz pianist who spends part of each concert taking requests from the audience. "Think of Horowitz mixed with Liberace with an ounce of Victor Borge, and you've got the picture," says the Atlanta Constitution.

The remaining performance in the series will be by the Cole Porter Musical Revue in April 1994. The revue performs the most famous songs by the master of the American musical theater along with some buried treasures. These are presented in a sequence of choreographed solos, duets and trios.

Series memberships will be sold this month only. The campaign headquarters is open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at 1017 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau.

Ruth Knote, the membership chairman, can be contacted at 334-4743 or 335-7869.