Ralph Hughes was a jazz musician based inthe Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He was a driving force in the founding of the Al Cohn Jazz Collection at East Stroudsburg University. In addition, the jazz publication “The Note” was started by Ralph and his wife Susan out of the kitchen of their home in Kresgeville. Ralph was instrumental in starting the Jazz Artist Repertory Orchestra (”JARO”,) was a mentor to many young musicians and involved in community efforts too numerous to mention.

After his death in 1997, Michael and Elvi De Lotto of Antelao Restaurant began holding an annual event to raise funds in order to award a scholarship to the COTA Cat with the highest grade point average. The COTA Cats are a high school jazz ensemble comprised of students from area high schools that perform every September at the annual Celebration of the Arts festival in Delaware Water Gap.

This calendar is a community effort of the participating advertising sponsors, photographers, poets and the calendar committee, and its purpose is to commission new music for the festival, raise funds for the Ralph Hughes Scholarship Fund, and to pay tribute to the local musicians that make the festival possible. This year we are honored to have commissioned the first piece by Bob Dorough, titled “I Got Me a Horn in High School”.

The annual Ralph Hughes Scholarship dinner is held every May on the Tuesday before Memorial Day at the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap. We would like to thank you for supporting our efforts and hope you enjoy this calendar.

Michael De Lotto            President - Ralph Hughes Scholarship Fund

Calendar Committee
Artistic Director & Production Coordinator                               Garth Woods                                         
Secretary Treasurer                                                               Elvi De Lotto                                
Sponsorship Coordinators                                                       Jim and Diane Pallitto, Jason Wilson            
Peanut Gallery                                                                       Dennis Carrig, Michael De Lotto

The COTA Cats, a big band consisting of area high school musicians, will celebrate their 30th year of COTA performances in 2010. This community/artist collaboration has prepared generations of students for college or conservatory toward musical careers

Courtesy: Pocono Record
By DAVID KIDWELL - Pocono Record Visual Editor
April 25, 2011

In the basement of Antelao restaurant in Delaware Water Gap, Chef Michael De Lotto is busy resurrecting a food technique he learned 30 years ago as a student at the Culinary Institute of America. These creations, however, will not be eaten, rather they will be centerpieces on dinner tables at an annual fundraiser.

More than a month before the annual Ralph Hughes Memorial Scholarship dinner, De Lotto is getting in some practice turning liquid sugar into art.

The fundraiser, at the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, is named after the late local jazz musician Ralph Hughes. Money raised is funneled into a scholarship given to one high school jazz musician from the area.

By the time the fundraiser gets cranking, De Lotto will have created centerpieces that look like blown glass instead of sugar. "Years ago we started doing food and art combined," De Lotto said. "And each year we keep the theme of blending the two."

Blowing sugar starts with ordinary table sugar mixed with water. DeLotto heats the sugar to above 300 degrees and shapes it into the form he wants. He'll then use a blow torch to tweak the design. Finished pieces may last a couple of weeks or less before they begin the collapse.

De Lotto and his wife, Elvi, founded the event thanks to inspiration from their late friend, Ralph Hughes. "He kind of introduced us to jazz in the Poconos," De Lotto said. "Ralph always worked hard to push the talents of local musicians. He was just a really interesting guy."

Guests at the dinner will hear tons of live jazz, and eat food prepared by De Lotto. Money raised goes to the COTA Cat with the highest grade-point average. The COTA Cats are a group of area high school musicians who form each year and perform in September at the Celebration of the Arts (COTA) in Delaware Water Gap. One guest at each table will take home the blown sugar centerpiece.

 Miles Fagley-Orfanella, a senior band member at Wyoming Valley West High School, earned the 2010 Ralph Hughes Memorial Jazz Scholarship. This $1,000 dollar award recognizes the most academically proficient jazz student participating in the 2010 Celebration of the Arts Honors Jazz Band. The COTA Cats are a big band jazz ensemble that highlights the top high school jazz students in the Pocono area and performs every year at the Delaware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts (COTA) jazz festival. The Ralph Hughes Scholarship honors the memory of jazz trumpet player Ralph Hughes who was an integral personality in the Pocono Mountains jazz scene. The scholarship is sponsored by Michael and Elvi De Lotto of Antelao Restaurant, Delaware Water Gap, and recognizes the most academically proficient senior COTA Cat based on their grade point average and class rank. Fagley-Orfanella is the first Wyoming Valley West band member to be awarded this prestigious honor.