Veteran Chicago jazz pianist and orchestra leader Joe Vito will team up with legendary jazz violinist Johnny Frigo, vocalist Carole March, and Rich Daniels & the City Lights Orchestra on Nov. 10 for a concert that benefits DePaul University’s School of Music Scholarship Fund. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Merle Reskin Theatre, 60 E. Balbo Drive.

The event, "Joe Vito Plays for DePaul," will feature jazz, contemporary standards and swing music by Daniels’ 32-piece orchestra. Vito and Frigo, who have played on Mondays at Toulouse on the Park for the last 13 years, will perform as a duo and with a quartet at the concert. Vito will also accompany and conduct the orchestra for his wife, singer Carole March.

Special musical arrangements have been provided for the concert by Vito’s friend, composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, who was knighted last year. Bennett has written music for more than 50 films, including "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Murder on the Orient Express." Local musicians and DePaul alumni Christopher Lay and John Kornegay are also arranging music for the concert.

Tickets to the concert are $25, $50 and $100 per person and are available by calling 312/922-1999. The $100 seats include admission to a post concert reception and performance by Colby/Caruso, a nationally acclaimed jazz group featuring saxophonist Mark Colby, a DePaul music faculty member, and pianist Frank Caruso.

Vito, who has performed with many great artists, including Frank Sinatra and Luciano Pavorotti, graduated from DePaul’s School of Music in 1955.

"DePaul has had a great influence on me," Vito said. "I met people there who helped me realize that I wanted to be a musician. This concert is a chance for me to give something back by helping young musicians study and pursue their dreams, as I did."

Daniels and several other members of the City Lights Orchestra also are graduates of the school, which has trained many of Chicago’s working musicians. Under various names during the last 24 years, The City Lights Orchestra has performed at hotels and at cultural and corporate events all over the United States.

"Joe and I graduated 30 years apart but we share an affection for DePaul’s School of Music and we are impressed with the direction the school is taking," said Daniels, a 1983 graduate of DePaul. "Joe’s one of the most respected musicians in Chicago and has been a great friend and mentor to me. I look forward to performing with him for our alma mater."

Music School Dean Donald Casey said the school is grateful that Vito and the other musicians are donating their talents to help fund scholarships for musicians at the school. "Joe is a highly regarded and much loved performer in Chicago and we’re proud to have him as an alumnus," Casey said. "It’s wonderful to celebrate what he’s done in Chicago music and we’re honored that he has invited his friends, including fellow alumnus Rich Daniels, to join him for a concert that benefits their musical roots at DePaul." Casey also thanked McDonalds Corporation and the company’s former CEO, Fred Turner, for underwriting the concert.

Located on DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus, DePaul’s School of Music has been dedicated to excellence in music teaching and performance since it was founded in 1912.

The school enrolls about 400 undergraduate and graduate students and offers programs in vocal performance, music composition, music education, jazz studies, sound recording technology and music/business. Admission to the school is highly selective and involves a rigorous performance audition. Many of the school’s faculty members perform professionally with prestigious area music ensembles and orchestras.