The Johnny Knorr Orchestra is kicking off its 51st season with a free concert marking founder Knorr’s 90th birthday.

The 90-minute performance will begin at 7 p.m. June 5 at Christ Presbyterian Church, located at Talmadge and Sylvania across from Westfield Franklin Park Mall.

Longtime band member and featured vocalist Gay Hobbs will be joined by guest vocalist Joel Zmuda. Refreshments will be served after the show.

No reservations are required, but seating is limited to approximately 200. Ample free parking is available.

Last year the Johnny Knorr Orchestra celebrated its 50th Anniversary with the release of a music CD “Just the Way You Like It,” a 24-song compilation of the band’s greatest all-time hits.

Johnny Knorr

On New Year’s Eve 2010 a documentary titled “Satin Dolls” about the orchestra’s long and illustrious history was previewed at the annual New Year’s Eve gala at the Stranahan Theatre Great Hall. On that historic night, the baton was passed from father to son as Jerry Knorr accepted his new role as music director and bandleader.

In conjunction with the birthday celebration and the beginning of another JKO season, “Satin Dolls” made its television debut June 4 on Toledo’s Buckeye Cable Channel 58 and ATT Channel 10. The show will air again June 4 at 7 p.m., June 5 at noon, June 11 at 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., June 12 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., June 18 at 12:30 and 5 p.m. and June 19 at 6:30 a.m. and noon.

“Satin Dolls” is a reference to the many female vocalists of the Big Band era. The production begins with a melancholy look back at headliners like Helen O’Connell, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald and many others. The story then settles in to focus on the Johnny Knorr Orchestra, and Johnny Knorr himself, who gives an often-humorous on-camera recollection of his childhood days playing first the violin and then the saxophone. Johnny explains how the band got started and how difficult it was in the early years back in the 1960’s.

The orchestra, renowned for 50-plus years of continuous performing, particularly in the Midwest, has called Sylvania’s Centennial Terrace home for decades.

Johnny and Jerry Knorr both have contributed many hours to the preservation of Centennial, which has undergone a complete restoration and renovation. This year JKO will again make multiple appearances at the historic open-air dance floor.

The 50th Anniversary music CD and the “Satin Dolls” DVD will be available for purchase at the concert. To order online, visit www.johnnyknorr.com where the full 2011 schedule of appearances at Centennial Terrace and other locations is also available.

For more information, call Jerry Knorr at 419-697-7612 or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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