Masters Week will be even more instrumental for Augusta and the National Science Center this year with best-selling jazz artist Kenny G performing in a benefit concert for NSC.
Billed as "great golf ... great sax ... what else is there?," Kenny G's concert on Friday, April 6 at Bell Auditorium will benefit the NSC at Fort Discovery, just as concerts by Glenn Frey of Eagles' fame have the past two years.
Like Frey an avid golfer, Kenny G. is the best-selling jazz artist in the world with more than 30 million record sales. He has had a nearly two-decade presence on the Billboard Top Ten, including the Top 10 hit "Songbird" and the multi-platimun album "Breathless."
"He is an awesome performer and he's extremely personable," says Phyllis Hendry, president of the National Science Center (NSC). "He cues right into the audience and the audience loves him, so we're really looking forward to it."
A non-profit organization, the NSC is in partnership with the U.S. Army. Their mission is to improve technical literacy and to encourage an interest in math and science careers. That mission's accomplished through interactive activities at Fort Discovery,
the NSC's headquarters in Augusta, and through educational opportunities offered nationwide. Located on Augusta's Riverwalk by the Savannah River, Fort Discovery is a family-oriented math and science center that features more than 270 interactive exhibits and is a popular field trip for students from throughout the Southeast.
Frey was asked to perform a benefit concert a few years ago, during the NSC's infancy, and he fell in love with its programs and Fort Discovery. He has younger children of his own who were excited about the fort, and he helps sponsors a foundation that benefits underprivileged children.
People at first questioned a benefit concert during Masters Week, because many Augusta area residents get their spring break then and leave town, Ms. Hendry said. However, she added, thousands of people pour into town at the same time, and many of them are corporate people who are looking to spend entertainment dollars. As a result, the NSC decided "this is our opportunity for people around the country to realize there is a national program in Augusta."
Replacing Frey with Kenny G for the Masters Week benefit actually was Frey's idea, Ms. Hendry said. Frey's two years of performances during Masters Week helped raise more than $400,000 for the NSC, but he feared that if he continued to make the benefit an annual event that featured only him, corporate sponsors and Augusta-area residents would lose interest. He thought there should be other performers. Following last year's event, Frey "started to work on it right away," Ms. Hendry said.
Kenny G, no doubt, will get a chance to play at the Augusta National, where Frey was playing a round of golf when he was first approached about helping the NSC. Kenny G's no duffer, either -- he and Phil Mickelson teamed to tie for first, with Tiger Woods and Jerry Chang, in the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach this past February. Both teams shot a 254.
The future for a Masters Week benefit concert should only get greener, because a number of musicians like to mix their careers with golf -- from Alice Cooper in the rock genre to Vince Gill, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw in the country-and-western field.
"This is critical support as to what we do," said Ms. Hendry. "For a one-night event, it's very important. We want to make it something that anyone will want to come back to next year."
"An Evening with Kenny G" will begin at Fort Discovery with a private reception featuring the saxophonist and his band, then will move to Bell for the featured performance. Ticket prices for Gala Tables range from $2,500 to $30,000. General-admission prices for concert-only tickets in the Bell mezzanine are $40 but are limited to 800 seats. Tickets will be on sale beginning March 5 through Ticketmaster. Call (706) 821-0648 or e-mail the NSC, at svp@nnscdiscovery.org, for more information.
