SUBMITTED PHOTO/Clarendon Citizen - Marlena Smalls and the Hallelujah Singers will be performing at the Cypress After 5 event on March 11. Smalls is inspired by the Gullah culture and uses it in her performances.
Cypress After 5 gears up for 12th season
The Cypress After 5 concert series is bringing world class entertainment to the Clarendon Health System campus once again.
“This is the the twelth year we’re bringing the arts to our community,” said Cypress Foundation Director Scherrie Cogdill. “And we’ve got some great entertainment this year.”
The 2011 series will begin on January 28, and the first performance will be from the Shag music group, The Embers.
The Embers have been together for 30 years and have released 15 albums. They have 300 concert dates a year and released such hits as “I Love Beach Music.”
“They are a premier beach band for us South Carolinians,” said Cogdill. “Our group loves to shag.”
On February 18, the second in the series will be “The Swing Time Orchestra.”
There are a lot of citizens that enjoy orchestra music said Cogdill and this band was brought to appease that crowd.
Leader Jon Miller is a trombonist, musician and is a retired Navy band director. He is also the winner of the prestigious George Howard Citation of Musical Excellence award. He has performed in musicals and composed, directed and produced his own CDs and multiple entertainment productions.
“They will bring a great variety of Swing music,” Cogdill said.
March 11 will be entertainer Marlena Smalls and the Hallelujah Singers.
Smalls has been in several high grossing films and has worked closely with actors Tom Hanks, Glenn Close and Demi Moore. She portrayed Bubba’s mother in Forrest Gump.
Smalls is inspired by the Gullah culture and uses it in her performances.
She has performed worldwide including performances for the Queen of England and at The Kennedy Center.
Smalls has also performed on The Today Show, Good Morning America and the Crook and Chase Show.
“She’s had lots of opportunity for national recognition,” Cogdill said.
Cypress After Five Producer Jeffery Black saw Smalls and her group perform several years ago.
“I have been trying to bring them to Clarendon County since I saw them perform,” he said. “The audience is in for a real treat from Marlena and her singers.”
The final performance of the series will be April 29 and one of the most prolific performances of the past will return, “The Headliners” from Hilton Head. The group is returning for an encore performance to play beach, oldies and other popular music.
“Everybody in this community knows ‘The Headliners,’” said Cogdill. “They’re a tried and true favorite. They’re always one of our favorites; they’re our most popular requested band so we try to bring them back every year or every other year.”
The Embers, The Swing Time Orchestra and Marlena Smalls are performers that have not been a part of the concert series before.
“We are very excited to have three new groups joining our Cypress After Five lineup this year,” said Black.
Not only is this event for entertainment, but it is also a fundraiser for the Cypress Foundation, which is the fundraising entity for the Clarendon Memorial Hospital.
“The Foundation supports programs and projects within the health system,” Cogdill said.
The concert series does not rely solely on ticket sales, but also the generosity of sponsors.
Cogdill said their benevolence gives the Foundation the much-needed funds to help get the series off the ground and running each and every year.
Farmer’s Telephone is a Gold Sponsor this year, Prothro Chevrolet is a Silver Sponsor and the Clarendon Citizen is the Media Sponsor.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have gracious community support and that is why we continue to keep it first and foremost as one of our major fundraising events,” said Cogdill.
Each concert will be coordinated with food and beverages for the particular artist or group that is performing.
Tickets for the concert series are $140 each and that includes all of the performances, food and drinks.
Tickets can be purchased at the Cypress Foundation office or at The Zone, located in the Cypress Center. Tickets can be purchased by calling 803-435-5246 and will be sold up until the first concert, Jan. 28.
“As we celebrate the twelfth year of the Cypress After Five Concert Series, we welcome our old friends and look forward to making new ones,” said Cogdill.
