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WILKES-BARRE — The Duke Ellington Orchestra will perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 12 at the F.M. Kirby Center, 71 Public Square.
The ensemble, which was originally led by prolific American composer, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, has performed for the past 88 years under the direction of three generations of Ellington’s family.
The composer’s career spanned 50 years, during which he led his orchestra, developed a vast catalogue of music, scored films, wrote musicals and toured the world.
According to a press release from the Kirby Center, Ellington “remains one of the most influential figures in jazz, if not in all American music, and is widely considered one of the 20th century’s best known African American personalities.”
“As both a composer and a band leader, Duke Ellington influenced millions of people both around the world and at home. He gave American music its own sound for the first time.”
Tickets for the Duke Ellington Orchestra cost $10, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and are available now through the Kirby Center box office, online at kirbycenter.org and by phone at 570-826-1100.