Flagler County, FL – If you’re penciling in activities for this weekend, you might want to put the Linda Cole & Friends Alumni Show at the Flagler Auditorium on your calendar.
Closing out the 2021 Community Celebration Series, not only does Friday night’s show in Palm Coast feature the legendary jazz songstress Linda Cole accompanied by the sexy, smooth sounds of the Abe Alam Trio, it’s bringing back to the stage some of the Flagler County’s alumni stars.
Meet the Cast of Characters
Missing the high voltage entertainment of being on a cruise ship?
Then you won’t want to miss the performances by global entertainers Jill Vanderoef and husband Sasha Kachanouski as they take the stage alongside Flagler graduates Kristen Blanton, Niki Gross and Jamie Lowe for an evening of solos, duets and trios in cabaret fashion.
Four of the five performers received their start on the stage at the Flagler Auditorium, and credit the performing arts center’s director Amelia Fulmer with helping shape their love of music and the performing arts, from a young age.
A 2003 graduate, Kristen Blanton now teaches music to elementary school students at Champion Elementary School in Volusia County. She says it was the early influences of Fulmer and now retired instructor Alana Fitzgerald, who set her on the path of music education.
“When I was growing up in Flagler County, Ms. Fulmer was my music teacher at Wadsworth Elementary,” said Blanton.
“Music was the thing that I could excel at and it was really fun. What she showed me was it didn’t just have to be fun, you could also skill build, learn new things and teach other people. And then it became my thing.”
“I didn’t know until I left and went away to college how lucky we were to have something like the auditorium to practice and perform in,” she said.
“The venue was a big thing, and then having Ms. Fulmer and Ms. Fitzgerald show me in terms of being part of the performing arts how to choose a track to make it into a career, that was the big thing for me,” said Blanton.
Younger children often look up to their older siblings, and Jill Vanderoef was no different. Following in Blanton’s footsteps with the music program, she says she found her tribe among fellow performers, including classmate and longtime cast mate Jamie Lowe, a trumpet player and vocalist.
“I wouldn’t sing if she didn’t. I just wanted to do what she did,” shared Vanderoef, who joined The Formality Singers at Flagler Palm Coast High School to model her sister.
Choir and theater helped build valuable skills like reading music that became assets on her resume.
“Most people are solo singers and learn it by ear, but the chorus foundation has helped me get the higher paying jobs,” she said.
Graduating in 2007, Vanderoef and Lowe were both accepted to Elon University in North Carolina where they studied musical theater after leaving Flagler Schools.
“The music was huge. When we went to college and got into the music theater programs, we were probably the best site readers there,” said Lowe, who taught theater and dance for a few years in Ormond after returning from New York City.
While embarking on different careers – Vanderoef was a regular performer on worldwide cruise ships for Holland America serving as the vocal captain before the pandemic, and Lowe works with athletic giant Lululemon, the two have remained close over the years.
“These two were like the dynamic duo all through high school,” said Fulmer.
Reminiscing about their younger years on stage, from shows like “It’s A Small World” and “Nickelodeon”, to the talents shows and a jazz ensemble, 2004 graduate and pianist Niki Gross said that after receiving her MBA from Stetson University, it was her dedication to her music background that helped land a job with a national hotelier as an asset manager and developer.
“It starts back with Ms. Fulmer and this path that everybody nurtured here,” said Gross.
With the addition of Sasha Kachanouski, a Belarus native with a Master’s Degree in dance education who currently teaches dance at Dance Amadis in Palm Coast, the crew was bubbly and excited walking into the Flagler Auditorium on Saturday for rehearsals.
“We spent every day of every semester in the choir room,” said Blanton. “It gave us our families that we still have, that most people don’t continue to have if you don’t have that kind of connection.”
Fulmer, who’s watched them all grow up, smiled like a proud parent, listening to their recollections and stories of success today.
“It’s because of the opportunities they were given. We would bring 200 kids over here to perform on this stage, and most kids don’t have a place like this,” said Fulmer, sharing that the Flagler Auditorium has given 128 scholarship to students since opening in 1991.
“What I’m really trying to preach is regardless of what your jobs are, it’s about the things you did here and how they shape you as a human being,” she said. “We want to try to get people to understand that when they come here to see a show, that support the students.”
Tickets are on sale now for the Linda Cole & Friends Alumni Show this Friday evening at the Flagler Auditorium.
Flagler Auditorium Presents Linda Cole & Friends
April 23, 2021 at 7:30 pm
5500 Hwy 100, Palm Coast, FL 32164
Tickets: $32/Show, $47/Dinner & Show Option
