Mike Seals Trio will headline the Full Moon Concert on Thursday, July 10 in Tonkawa Centennial Park, 301 East Grand, Tonkawa, OK. The band features Mike Seals, piano; Don Long, drums; and Lane Turgeon, bass who will entertain with jazz classics from the 1930s, 40s, 50s and beyond.
Mike Seals earned his BA degree in Jazz Piano Performance from Jacksonville State University, in Jacksonville, AL, and a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. For ten years, he played piano as a member of the US Army Band program and worked overseas in Germany and Kuwait for nearly 30 years. Mike and his wife, Kym (Long) returned to Ponca City in 2018 after Mike taught music for a year at Rowan University. He is now teaching English at East Middle School in Ponca City.
Don Long played drums in the Ponca City School system under directors Wayne Hartman and A.H. (Pete) Long. As a student at Oklahoma A&M College, (now OSU) he became a drummer for the R.O.T.C. band and the “Ashley Alexander Jr. Dance Band” before returned to Ponca City and organizing his own band. Don joined Les Gilliam’s western swing “Silver Lake Band” in 1992, performing for 22 years throughout the US. In 2014, Don and each member of the Silver Lake Band were inducted into the Cowtown Society of Western Music in Mineral Wells, TX.
Lane Turgeon is self-employed at Turgeon Musical ReSolutions as a piano tuner and performing repairs on string instruments. He lives in Winfield, KS, and is a graduate of the Piano Technician Academy. He brings a fresh outlook and modern approach to his playing and stays busy with both his business and playing professionally with a number of groups, including the Mike Seals Trio.
The family-friendly concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Heart in the Park Pavilion and is free to all. Since bench seating in the park is limited, the public is invited to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Pets on leashes are welcome and restroom facilities are located across the street in the Santa Fe Depot. Throughout the evening, concert goers may walk the world’s only heart-shaped labyrinth, and the evening concludes with the traditional group howl at the full moon.
Begun in 2015, North Central Oklahoma Arts Council and Heart in the Park Committee of the Tonkawa Historical Society sponsor the free monthly concerts throughout the summer season on the night of the full moon. The next Full Moon Concert by Enid-based Dually Noted is set for Saturday, August 9. In case of inclement weather or for more information, check for Full Moon Concert updates at https://heartinthepark.org/ and on NCOAC Facebook: www.facebook.com/TonkawaArts/ and Heart in the Park Labyrinth facebook or by messaging 580-628-0108.
