Mary Lou Newnam at Cheltenham Center for the Arts

The Jazz Bridge First Wednesdays Neighborhood Concerts Series at the Cheltenham Center for the Arts--439 Ashbourne Road in Cheltenham—presents saxophonist Mary Lou Newnam on Wednesday, April 1. Showtime is 7:30 p.m., tickets are $10/$5 for students, and are only available at the door. For info: 215-517-8337 or visit jazzbridge.org/events/neighborhood-concerts.

This performance, and all Jazz Bridge concerts being held in the month of April, are a part of the City of Philadelphia’s “Jazz Appreciation Month” celebration, sponsored by “Creative Philadelphia,” within the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy....

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The Jazz Bridge First Wednesdays Neighborhood Concerts Series at the Cheltenham Center for the Arts--439 Ashbourne Road in Cheltenham—presents saxophonist Mary Lou Newnam on Wednesday, April 1. Showtime is 7:30 p.m., tickets are $10/$5 for students, and are only available at the door. For info: 215-517-8337 or visit jazzbridge.org/events/neighborhood-concerts.

This performance, and all Jazz Bridge concerts being held in the month of April, are a part of the City of Philadelphia’s “Jazz Appreciation Month” celebration, sponsored by “Creative Philadelphia,” within the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy.

Wilmington, DE native Mary Lou Newnam has been playing music professionally since 1973. As a youngster, she first studied piano, but later on, during her time at the Wilmington Music School, she took up classical guitar, flute and saxophone. As an applied flute major a Duquesne University, she studied flute with Bernard Goldberg and played tenor saxophone in the school’s jazz band. Her first pro gigs were at Wilmington’s Hotel Dupont Playhouse, backing the likes of swing era vocalist Ray Eberle and playing in the bands of Les Elgart, Bob Crosby and Cab Calloway. At the age of 23, she toured with jazz organ giant Jimmy McGriff, and through the years has backed dozens of entertainment legends, from Bob Hope and Tony Bennett to The Temptations and Rosemary Clooney. She received her Masters in Music Degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and as an educator, served on the faculty of the Roosevelt Island School of Music, has been music director at St. Augustine College Preparatory School in Vineland, NJ since 2003, and also currently serves as the Music Director of the University of Pennsylvania Jazz Band.

Jazz Bridge, an award-winning nonprofit dedicated to assisting Greater Philadelphia Metro area jazz and blues musicians and vocalists in times of crisis, sponsors these neighborhood concerts throughout the region to keep the sound of Philadelphia alive.

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