A Gettysburg College music professor's band performed at the new Pennsylvania Governor's inaugural ball.

The Buzz Jones Big Band entertained thousands of guests at Gov. Tom Corbett's celebration on Jan 18. The band's master of ceremonies was Jeffrey Gabel, the founding executive director of Gettysburg College's historic Majestic Theater.

"What a treat to be up on the bandstand, performing in front of 4,000 people," Gabel said. "For a moment, I got a thrill as to what it must have been like back in the heyday of swing era when big bands like Glenn Miller's were the rock stars of their day."

Prof. John "Buzz" Jones teaches theory, composition, and jazz studies at Gettysburg College's Sunderman Conservatory of Music. The inaugural ball performance "came about from my friendship with Susan Corbett," Jones said. "Susan knew of my band and thought it would be great to have a group of Pennsylvania jazz musicians perform at the inauguration. Susan, Tom, and I were classmates at Lebanon Valley College in the late '60s and early '70s."

The band's performance of "Sing, Sing, Sing" is the background music for the Harrisburg Patriot-News' video of the event.

For over 30 years The Buzz Jones Big Band has performed masterpieces of the Great American Songbook, swing standards, blues of all genres, Latin jazz, and fusion. The band's 300-plus performances include jazz festivals, conventions, college campuses, ballroom dances, and summer park concert series. The band has toured Europe three times since 1995.

Cathy Chemi, who sang with the band at the ball, has shared the stage with Alan King, legendary jazz pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines, and the Harry James Orchestra. She has toured the U.S. and Europe with performances at London's Royal Festival Hall and the Hollywood Palladium. She teaches jazz voice at Gettysburg College's Sunderman Conservatory of Music.

The Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College combines Gettysburg's superb music tradition and its strengths as one of the nation's leading liberal arts colleges. Established in 2005 through a $15.7 million gift from 1919 graduate Dr. F. William Sunderman Sr., the conservatory offers three degrees -- bachelor of music in performance, bachelor of arts in music, and bachelor of science in music education -- as well as a minor in music.

Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences. With a student body of approximately 2,500, it is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1832.

Contact: Jim Hale, online content editor

The Buzz Jones Big Band at the inaugural ball