An Evening With Jeni Fleming and Eric Funk
Special House Concert Features Jeni Fleming and Eric Funk
The Arts Council of Big Sky is pleased to present a special evening featuring two of the region’s most accomplished musicians when we welcome Jeni Fleming and Eric Funk for an intimate performance of ballads and bossas at the Schwer-Toepffer Residence on Tuesday, July 19, at 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets are $50, including appetizers and wine, and are available online only at bigskyarts.org. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
Jeni and Eric have been performing together off and on for nearly 30 years; casual gigs in the 90s at the Robin, appearing together a few times on “11th & Grant” (including the very 1st episode in 2003), several stints together at Jazz Montana, and playing nearly every venue in Bozeman for one event or another. Between the two of them they’ve played literally hundreds of people’s weddings and almost as many funerals. They are Bozeman’s first call musicians for just about any type of fundraiser because they both have a well-earned following and they care deeply about their community. Their appeal lies in the fact that these two accomplished musicians feel deeply and laugh often.
After seven albums and many cross-country tours, Jeni Fleming is one of the west’s most sought-after musicians, bringing a breathtaking originality to some of the best music of the American songbook. From classic jazz standards from composers such as Gershwin, Cole Porter and Jobim, to re-arranged pop hits by Cyndi Lauper, The Grateful Dead, or The Beatles, she defies easy classification. Fleming has performed as a vocalist at many major music festivals including UNC Greeley Jazz Festival, (winner of two Outstanding Soloist Awards), Yellowstone Jazz Festival, Powell Jazz Festival, Juan de Fuca Festival, Jazz Montana, Big Timber Jazz Society, Phillipsburg Jazz Festival, Jazz at the Depot (opening for Hank Jones), Minot Jazz Festival, Jazz In the Canyon, and Victoria International JazzFest, opening for famed pianist Dave Brubeck.
Eric Funk is an American contemporary classical composer and conductor. Originally from Deer Lodge, Montana, he currently resides in Bozeman, where he teaches music courses at Montana State University. His 144 major works have earned him numerous awards and commissions, including 13 ASCAP Standard Awards, the 2001 Governor's Award for the Arts (Montana), a 2011 Innovation in the Arts Award, a 2012 Humanities Hero Award (Humanities Montana), and three Arts Commission Fellowships. He currently teaches for the School of Music/Montana State University where he has won numerous teaching awards: 2018 Provost Distinguished Lecturer, 2013 James and Mary Ross Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2009 Distinguished Service Award University Honors Program, and the 2007 President’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Funk also serves as host and Artistic Director for the Emmy award-winning 11th and Grant with Eric Funk on Montana PBS, and is Music/Artistic Director Emeritus for the Bravo Big Sky Music Festival.
They have been the opening act, the background music, the special music, the wedding music, the bar band, the party band, the aprés ski band, the featured artist and the headliner. However, it is indeed a rare thing for Jeni and Eric to perform a full-length concert together, and this promises to be a memorable night of music.
This concert is being underwritten by the Arts Council’s Schwer-Toepffer Memorial Fund. Limited tickets are available. For more information please visit bigskyarts.org.