The Four Freshmen Bring Spectacular Christmas Show

Fans of the songs of yesterday will have their wishes granted this holiday season when The Four Freshmen come to Broken Arrow December 4 for a spectacular Christmas show.

Fans of the songs of yesterday will have their wishes granted this holiday season when The Four Freshmen come to Broken Arrow December 4 for a spectacular Christmas show. It’s part of the 2008-2009 Encore Series presented by the Broken Arrow Arts & Humanities Council.

The Four Freshmen’s profound influence on American jazz and pop singing began in 1948 with four students at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Hal Kratzsch, brothers Ross and Don Barbour, and their cousin Bob Flanigan created a brand new vocal sound. Working without written music and choosing notes by ear, they spread their jazz voicing over a wider range than other groups, and they imitated the phrasing and aggressive feel of a big band brass section. Flanigan says, “After we heard ourselves make the sound, we never wanted to sing any other way.”

When bandleader Stan Kenton heard the group at the Esquire Lounge in Dayton, Ohio, he immediately recognized their potential. At his urging, Capitol Records signed The Four Freshmen in 1950, initiating a string of hits with “It’s A Blue World.” The soundtrack of the movie “Lucy Gallant” introduced “How Can I Tell Her” and the flip side, “Day By Day,” and became a hit in days. The Four Freshmen have produced more than 70 singles and albums.

Wherever The Freshmen went, they won fans and inspired vocal groups. They played nearly every college in the USA, performing in all 50 states and 44 countries from Asia to Europe to Australia. Bob Flanigan retired from performing in 1992, but he continues as the group’s mentor and personal manager. There have been 22 different line-ups, and the current group consists of Brian Eichenberger, Curtis Calderon, Vince Johnson and Bob Ferreira.

Tickets are $15 and are available at all four Arkansas Valley Bank locations – downtown Broken Arrow, 121st & Elm in Broken Arrow, 51st & Mingo in Tulsa and the newest location next to Bass Pro Shop in Broken Arrow – and at Arrow Flowers, 213 South

Main in downtown Broken Arrow. Members of the Broken Arrow Arts & Humanities Council receive a 2-for-1 special on tickets.

Sponsors for the 2008-2009 Encore Series season include the Oklahoma Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Arkansas Valley Bank and Public Service Company of Oklahoma.

For more information about the Encore Series or the Broken Arrow Arts & Humanities Council, visit the official website at www.artsba.org, or call (918) 259-4300 ext. 258 or 244.

For more information, contact

Broken Arrow Arts & Humanities Council

123 North Main Street
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012

(918) 259-4300 ext. 258 or 244

www.artsba.org