Valdosta State University will present A Tribute to the Beatles at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 11, in Whitehead Auditorium. Admission is free of charge and open to the public.
 
Directed by Dr. Tod J. Leavitt, a 21-member ensemble comprised of faculty and students from VSU’s Department of Music and area professional musicians will perform a selection of Beatles favorites — “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “With a Little Help from My Friends,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “Penny Lane,” “All You Need is Love,” “When I’m 64,” “A Day in the Life,” and “In My Life.” All of the songs were written by world-famous singer-songwriters John Lennon and Paul McCartney.   
 
“I teach MUSC 1120: American Popular Music at VSU,” shared Leavitt, a lecturer of music. “That is the inspiration for the concert. The Beatles was my first favorite band; I began listening to them in the car on family trips as I was growing up. I chose to perform songs from 1967, the summer of love … The first record I ever purchased was The Magical Mystery Tour; John Lennon has said that was his favorite Beatles record. Also on the program are songs from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, considered to be the first rock concept album.”
 
A Tribute to the Beatles will last approximately 45 minutes, “about the same length as a Beatles concert … while they toured between 1964 and 1966,” Leavitt added.  
 
Whitehead Auditorium is located on the first floor of the VSU Fine Arts Building, at the intersection of Oak Street and Brookwood Drive.