TICKETS are $10 General/$5 Student.

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from the Wells Philanthropic Services provided by grants from the John, Anna, and Martha Jane Fields Memorial Trust Foundation and the Florence V. Carroll Charitable Trust, The Esther and George Jaruga Charitable Foundation, the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County's ArtsEverywhere initiative, and the Arts Project Support Grant and Arts Recovery Grant through the Indiana Arts Commission.

Our Home Grown Series presents the Don Lerman Trio! Don on saxophone will be joined by Larry Dwyer on piano in performing a program of beloved Frank Loesser compositions from films, Broadway musicals, and other popular Loesser songs. Darrel Tidaback will not be able to perfom this evening due to a family emergency.

Don Lerman  will perform the music of one of America’s greatest songwriters, Frank Loesser, at Merrriman’s Playhouse in downtown South Bend on Saturday night February 18 at 7:30 pm. A native of New York city, Frank Loesser (1910-1969) was both a lyricist and composer for films, revues, and stage shows. He wrote lyrics for songs in over 60 motion pictures, and lyrics and/or music for nine stage shows, including five well-known Broadway musical shows: Where’s Charley (1948), Guys and Dolls (1950), The Most Happy Fella (1956), Greenwillow (1960), and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961).

A list of his published musical works in the Frank Loesser Songbook includes over 600 songs, some written with such eminent composers as Jule Styne, Hoagy Carmichael, Arthur Schwartz, and Burton Lane. Many of Loesser's compositions became enduring hits and standards, including "Once in Love With Amy," "If I Were a Bell," "I Believe in You," and "Never Will I Marry."

Don Lerman - saxophone

Larry Dwyer - piano

Darrel Tidaback - bass (not available for this concert)

Don Lerman, a native of South Bend who graduated from Riley High School, spent many years performing on sax and clarinet in big bands around the Washington, D.C., area, most notably with the Harry James Orchestra that continued after the legendary big band trumpeter’s death in 1983. His influences include Art Pepper, Lucky Thompson, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Charlie Parker and Gerry Mulligan.

Larry Dwyer is a graduate of Notre Dame, where he was Outstanding Bandsman (1966), trombone soloist all four years with the concert band, and twice named “Best Trombonist” at the Collegiate Jazz Festival. He earned his Masters degree in music education and did doctoral studies at the University of Illinois. He is Associate Teaching Professor in Jazz, and Assistant Director of Bands at Notre Dame.

Larry Dwyer has been principal trombonist of the South Bend Symphony Pops Orchestra and pianist with his own jazz trio. He has performed with such jazz greats as Thad Jones, Clark Terry, Sonny Stitt, and Sarah Vaughan. Among his jazz band compositions are a religious trilogy: The Old Beelzebub Blues, Lord Save the Sinner, and The Abha Kingdom. His orchestral arrangements of the music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and others have been performed and recorded by the South Bend Symphony, Houston Pops, Utah Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic. Prior to teaching at Notre Dame, Mr. Dwyer taught band and jazz band in the South Bend public schools, and was director of jazz studies at Concordia University in Montreal.

Darrel Tidaback is a South Bend bassist with a history of directing the IUSB Jazz Ensemble and Twin Cities Jazz Orchestra. He began his college teaching career at St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas in 1990. Darrel may be heard with jazz and orchestral groups throughout the region. He has performed on more than twenty recordings including his own Time ines. Darrel holds an undergraduate degree in music from Saint Mary’s University and a Master of Music degree in string bass performance from the University of Texas, San Antonio.