Eastern Connecticut State University will host a fall concert series featuring two world-class acts in support of scholarships for Eastern students. Titled “Great Music Fostering Scholarship,” the series will open with legendary a cappella group Take 6 on Sept. 17 followed by Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval on Oct. 15. Both concerts will be held in the Concert Hall of the Fine Arts Instructional Center.

The series is proudly presented by the ECSU Foundation and Lester E. and Phyllis Foster Foundation in association with Shaboo Productions. All ticket proceeds will go toward the ECSU Foundation’s Kevin Crosbie Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which supports Eastern students from six local high schools.

“We’re so excited to bring this music series to Eastern’s beautiful Concert Hall,” said Kenneth J. DeLisa, vice president for Institutional Advancement at Eastern. “And we’re so grateful to David and Marilyn Foster and the Lester E. Foster and Phyllis M. Foster Foundation for their underwriting support. These concerts will raise a significant amount of money for local students, enabling them to complete their undergraduate degrees.”

Local philanthropist and music icon David Foster, executive director of the Foster Foundation and owner of Shaboo Productions, will perform with his band The Shaboo All-Stars on Oct. 15 with Arturo Sandoval. “Eastern is the pinnacle of our community and I’m a strong believer of scholarship,” said Foster. “Knowledge is everything today. If everybody has a chance to have an education, they have a chance to better themselves.”

“Take 6 started at an institution of higher learning, so it's always an honor and a pleasure to be involved in helping others achieve their goals,” said Claude McKnight, founder of Take 6. “We are humbled to be a part of helping Eastern Connecticut State University students receive scholarships to further their dreams.”

Take 6

Heralded by Quincy Jones as the “baddest vocal cats on the planet!” Take 6 formed in Huntsville, Alabama in 1980 and have since become the most awarded a cappella group in history. The Grammy Award- and Dove Award-winning sextet have created a unique blend of gospel, jazz, R&B and pop punctuated by their six virtuosic voices.

Consisting of Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian Dentley, Take 6 has received praise from the likes of Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald and Whitney Houston. The multi-platinum selling sextet has toured across the globe, collaborated across genres, and is recognized as the pre-eminent a cappella group in the world.

Arturo Sandoval

Winner of 10 Grammy Awards, six Billboard Music Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Barrack Obama, Cuba-born Arturo Sandoval stands among the world’s foremost guardians of jazz music. A protégé of legendary jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie, Sandoval is a master trumpeter known for vivacious live performances seen by millions around the world. 

Sandoval’s latest album, “Rhythm & Soul,” released in 2022 to rave reviews. He also received an Emmy Award for composing the entire underscore of the HBO movie based on his life, “For Love or Country,” starring Andy Garcia as Arturo. Sandoval is also a renowned classical musician and pianist, regularly performing with leading symphony orchestras from around the world.

Tickets

Presented in the Concert Hall of Eastern’s Fine Arts Instructional Center, both dates will feature two performances: 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets for Take 6 on Sept. 17 are now for sale at https://bit.ly/3dPYdNt.

All ticket proceeds will go toward the ECSU Foundation’s Kevin Crosbie Memorial Endowed Scholarship. Named for the late publisher of The Willimantic Chronicle, the four-year scholarship supports Eastern students with financial need who graduated from the following high schools: Windham High School, RHAM High School, E.O. Smith High School, Parish Hill High School, Coventry High School and Lyman Memorial High School.