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Former Manasquan Teacher Harry Eichhorn To Be Honored By Algonquin Arts Theatre

April 17, 2012

An Evening With Rich Little: A Red, White & Blue Gala Will Be Held on May 17 at Algonquin Arts Theatre

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Caption: Former Manasquan High School teacher Harry Eichhorn will be honored as part of An Evening With Rich Little: A Red, White & Blue Gala on May 17 at Algonquin Arts Theatre. (Courtesy of Harry Eichhorn)

MANASQUAN, NJ � Algonquin Arts Theatre will recognize former Manasquan High School band director and Sea Girt resident Harry Eichhorn for his contributions to Arts Education at the theatre's annual gala on May 17.

The event, formally titled "An Evening With Rich Little: A Red, White & Blue Gala" will be headlined by presidential impersonator and comedian Rich Little, while honoring Eichhorn as well as Humanitarian Honorees Maria Zito-Kaufman and Simon Kaufman, Esq.

"We are extremely pleased to honor Harry Eichhorn for his decades of contributions as an arts educator," said William Whitefield, Executive Director of Algonquin Arts Theatre. "His work in the classroom and outside of the school setting with his community bands has brought music into the lives of multiple generations at the Jersey Shore."

Eichhorn will conduct the Atlantic Wind Ensemble, a community band he founded after his retirement from teaching in 1989, and his wife, Mary Eichhorn, will lead the Festival Chorus as part of the evening's festivities.

In addition to his teaching career, Eichhorn also founded the Ocean Grove Summer Band, which celebrates its 60th season under his baton in 2012. The band provides an opportunity for musicians from high school age and older to continue playing � while developing sight reading skills � during the summer.

The group rehearses on Monday nights and plays concerts on Wednesday nights, typically in the Ocean Grove Boardwalk Pavilion. The Summer Band closes its summer season with an annual concert in The Great Auditorium and has appeared in other local communities including Sea Girt and Spring Lake. Many musicians who began playing with the group as Eichhorn's Manasquan High School students continue to play today.

Eichhorn was the Manasquan High School Band Director for 36 years. He holds degrees in music education and conducting from Montclair State University, Rutgers University and The College of New Jersey. He has been honored by the New Jersey State Senate and Assembly, former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman and former U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. In 1989, he was chosen Music Educator of the Year by the New Jersey Music Educators Association and in 2010 was inducted as a member of the All Shore Band Directors Association Hall of Fame.

Following his retirement from teaching in 1989, he founded the Atlantic Wind Ensemble to allow the area's best musicians with an avenue for their talents during the winter months. Eichhorn has also said it founded to keep him busy, thereby staying out of trouble with his wife.

The Atlantic Wind Ensemble has performed concerts at area churches including St. Andrew's United Methodist Church in Spring Lake which also serves as the rehearsal space for the group. They have also played at Liberty State Park, the Battleship New Jersey, the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City and senior citizen complexes throughout the state.

The Ensemble is successful as a fundraising vehicle, having raised more than $250,000 for charitable organizations and families in need due to health crises.

The Algonquin Arts Theatre annual gala � this year with a patriotic theme that suits the Atlantic Wind Ensemble's patriotic repertoire well � serves as the key fundraiser for the theatre and three levels of tickets are available. For $150, the Presidential ticket includes dinner at either Firefly � An American Bistro or Remington's as well as a cocktail hour starting at 5:30 p.m. The Vice Presidential ticket includes a pre-show cocktail hour at 7 p.m. and costs $75. A limited number of tickets for only the 8:30 p.m. performance are available for $50.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 732-528-9211 or online at algonquinarts.org

The event will include a silent auction and a live auction for select items, including a pair of tickets to �The Book of Mormon� and a ride on the Horizon blimp. Businesses or individuals interested sponsorship, advertising or contributing to the auctions can visit algonquinarts.org/gala or call 732-528-4336 for more information.

The gala has received generous support from sponsors including The Daleo Family, PNC Wealth Management, Maria Zito-Kaufman & Simon Kaufman, Esq., Janice E. Blanton, Ruth and George Harms of Harms Construction and many others. Visit algonquinarts.org/gala for a complete list of sponsors.

Algonquin Arts Theatre was founded in 1992 as a nonprofit organization that uses the arts to provide cultural enrichment and educational enhancement of the highest quality for Central New Jersey residents.