Release Date:  January 4, 2002

NOTE: The starting time for the concert will be 7 p.m. It was earlier advertised as 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are expected to be a hot commodity as Monmouth’s Gracie Peterson marks her 100^th birthday Feb. 28 with a 7 p.m. concert celebration at the Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg. “Amazing Gracie: A Centennial Celebration” is being organized by the Monmouth Rotary Club and Monmouth College.

Randy McElwee, president of the Monmouth Rotary, and Richard F. Geise, president of Monmouth College, pose with Gracie Peterson '22 at a recent Rotary meeting. Monmouth College and the Rotary are co-sponsoring "Amazing Gracie: A Centennial Celebration." The celebration will be held at 7:30 p.m., February 28th at Galseburg's Orpheum Theatre.

“Gracie has been playing the piano for the Monmouth Rotary for 80 years, so it only seemed natural that Monmouth College and the Rotary would team up to help celebrate Gracie’s 100^th birthday,” said the college’s director of communications, Jeff Rankin. “We plan to make this a true celebration of Gracie’s life and her involvement at the college and in the community.”

Gracie taught piano at the college from 1922 to 1972 and is remembered for her musical productions at the Rivoli Theatre in the ’40s. The celebration will reflect her lifetime in the community and at the college.

Upon her retirement, Gracie became a world traveler and presented musical travelogues based on her visits abroad.

“She has touched hundreds of lives through her music.” Rankin continued, “Right now, we are planning on a ‘standing room only’ crowd.”

Dick Griffiths, professor of music emeritus at Monmouth, will emcee the program, which is expected to include both MC alumni and Rotary members.

“We hope to also include an impromptu segment, in which Gracie plays the piano as she has done for decades at Meling’s Restaurant,” said Rankin.

Rankin suggests ordering tickets early as the celebration has been promoted nationally through the college’s publications and Web site. Reserved seat tickets are $10 and general admission seats are $7.50.

Tickets may be purchased by contacting the Orpheum Theatre (309) 342-2299, or reserved on line by e-mailing tickets@theorpheum.org. They are also available in the college's alumni office (309-457-2316) and at Security Savings Bank in Monmouth.

Released by the Office of College Communications
Barry McNamara, Associate Director of College Communications
Phone: 309-457-2117
Fax: 309-457-2330

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