Join blues guitarist & historian Scott Ainslie on Friday March 21, 2014, 7:30 pm, in Library's Main Room for a visually and musically entertaining exploration of the region that was ground zero for the development of the Blues. Tickets are $20.00/ $15.00 for Friends of Library members, and may be purchased at Brattleboro Tix or at the library's circulation desks, and at the door. To benefit the Friends of BML.

The purpose of the Friends is to support Brooks Memorial Library in providing the highest quality library services to the community by means of advocacy, public relations and fund raising. 

We arrived fashionably late for the Future Collective show Friday night and missed Wooly Mar's opening. We regret that but we had the bill upside down.

Wooly Mar is Maria Pugnetti, an “intermedia artist” living in Northampton, MA, who has done various musical things through the years, usually described as some kind of folk music. Currently, she's doing her own thing with a fluctuating group of musical collaborators, of whom we heard one, a bass player named Kurt. Armed with a compact array of keyboard, drum machine, effects units, and other gear, she coupled sounds and effects with her own sinuous voice in a way that was frankly mesmerizing and slightly levitational. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that this woman was luminous, or as one girl shouted out, “pure magic.”

Wooly Mar's lyrics stream by and at times it's a bit like listening to a surprisingly realistic fairy tale. We are warned of danger, but there are goddesses and forest elves to give us hope. That said, her music is not pretty. The music she constructed in this set had an industrial edge that grounded her squarely in the real world. She even performed a rap, which was cute in itself, but then it turned out to be a really good rap and the audience was hers.

Home Body, also of Northampton, are composed of singer Haley Morgan with Eric Hnatow on keyboards. In contrast to Wooly Mar, who seemed a bit shy, Home Body came out with a show – stage costumes, attitude, singing and dancing, and even a light show, which was impressive in itself. In sooth, they seemed made for a slightly larger arena. Haley Morgan has a big, versatile voice, with a lot of drama and range. I don't really know what she was singing about, but it all felt passionate and important, and people danced.

It's hard having a sound as big as Home Body's with only two people on stage and maybe 35 in the audience. It's harder still when someone accidentally unplugs the sound system just as you reach the climax of your first song. To their credit, they never let on how annoying that had to have been. Someday they'll look back on all this and laugh.

The evening ended with a DJ and more dancing but we wandered off at that point because it was almost 11 o'clock and past our bedtime. Thankfully, most Future Collective shows seem to be from 8-11, making it easy for lazy people like ourselves to attend. More to come, check the Collective's Facebook page for details as they're announced.

Guilford, Vt. - Friends of Music at Guilford has been providing the Guilford Central School with a Music Enrichment Program residency for the past six seasons, with partial funding from the Max Y. Seaton Trust. The balance of the budget is raised by a public concert in Brattleboro featuring the program's residency artists and also, for the past three seasons, by a Spaghetti Supper held at the school.

This year's pasta supper is set for Wednesday, March 26, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., and is followed by a School Music Night concert; the school is at 374 School Rd. in Guilford Center. The menu includes pasta with a gluten-free option, a vegetarian sauce made from scratch, homemade meatballs for carnivores, green salad, artisan bread with plain or garlic butter, beverages, desserts and a sundae bar.

A pasta-counting contest, 50-50 raffle, and tag sale add to the fun. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids age 5-16, free for under-5s, and $25 as a family maximum. Information: (802) 254-3600, www.fomag.org.

Innovative, original jazz, influenced by Colombian rhythms. Featuring saxophonist, Jaleel Shaw

The Vermont Jazz Center will present Colombian pianist, Carolina Calvache, performing as part of our Emerging Artist series. This young artist has all the qualifications that the VJC is celebrating in this series: she is launching her first CD with a major jazz label (Sunnyside), she is a creative composer, she is highly accomplished on her instrument. She is a rising star in the eyes of both critics and peers and she is traveling with her own band. Her musicians have studied and performed her complex material and are able to transcend its technical demands and add to the beauty of her vision. These musicians are Jaleel Shaw on saxophone, Yasushi Nakamura on acoustic bass and Rodrigo Recabarren on drums.

Carolina Calvache is from Cali, Colombia. She is deeply connected to her native roots. This is apparent from her repertoire, the musicians she chooses to play with and her absorption of a sophisticated rhythmical palette that freely borrows from the Colombian musical landscape. She says that the places she’s lived have deeply influenced her sound. First, growing up in Colombia, second, going to music school at the esteemed University of North Texas and then coming to New York to work with her mentor, Luís Perdomo. In New York she has become immersed in the community of jazz musicians, become a regular at jam sessions and has earned the admiration of other aspiring artists.

When not playing jazz standards at jam sessions or as a side-woman on other musician’s gigs, Carolina focuses on her composing and performing and the development of her own concepts. This is clearly evident on her beautiful first recording, Sotareño, which displays elements of Texas, New York and Colombia. She says, “I was looking for a different kind of sound. Some of the songs are traditional Colombian folk melodies, arranged in a way that incorporates a contemporary jazz sound. I have been greatly influenced by the way in which Miguel Zenon has transformed Puerto Rican songs. My arrangements will hopefully turn people on to the beautiful songs that are important for my country and important for me personally.” Carolina elaborated on her arranging and writing, “The song needs to be lyrical. I feel that even instrumental melodies need to sound like they are singing, like they have lyrics even if they don’t. [For me] to respect a song, there’s got to be a melody and a flow. Then there’s the harmonic part, this is about using different colors so that it doesn’t sound like a I IV V folk song. I am looking to create arrangements where the melody flows and the colors are varied. Listen to my version of Sotareño on Youtube and hear the melody. Then listen to the folkloric versions of the piece. It is a Colombian folksong - I’m honest with the melody, even though the harmony and rhythm of the line might change, the arrangement still holds honestly to the essence of the song.”

Carolina has invited Jaleel Shaw with her to perform at the Vermont Jazz Center. Many in this region remember Jaleel’s astounding appearance with Roy Haynes back in 2005 at the Latchis Theater. She was introduced to Jaleel through Luís Perdomo after asking him who has a “crazy, amazing sound” on alto. “Jaleel came to my recording session and loved the challenge, it was new for him; he was happy to be a part of the project. Everything he has added has been at a very high level.” Shaw continues to perform with Roy Haynes, the Mingus Big Band and is active as a leader with his own quartet and quintet.

Bassist Yasushi Nakamura was playing with trombonist Marshall Gilkes when Carolina first heard him. “Yasuki, is amazing: he helps me feel confident, his sound is great, his timing is excellent, he knows the style. I saw him and had to have him in my band.” He has performed with Clarence Penn, Frank Kimbrough, Wynton Marsalis, Hank Jones and many others.

The drummer of the group is Rodrigo Recabarren. Carolina says, “I’ve been playing with Rodrigo for the last year, he knows my music. Because he’s from Chile, Rodrigo and I share a rhythmical understanding, like the use of odd meters and changes of meters within the songs. He makes complex rhythms sound easy, like water! Latin American music is all about the combination of 3 and 2, that’s what I love. Even though we are from different countries, we share all those things. For example the Colombian Bambuco is similar to a Chilean form called the Cueca.”

When asked to discuss her upcoming trip to Vermont with her quartet, Carolina laughed and said, “This is my first time in Vermont, I’m very excited. This is also the first concert celebrating the release of my new recording. It makes me very happy that I can bring people that I like to launch my CD in a new place, different from NY. This is very special.”

The VJC audience is fortunate to have the opportunity to listen to the Carolina Calvache Quartet featuring Jaleel Shaw as part of the Emerging Artist Series. The concert will take place on Saturday, April 5th at 8:00 PM. This performance is made possible thanks to generous financial support from Diana Bingham as well as ongoing support from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, The Hampton Inn of Brattleboro and VPR and WFCR.

Tickets for the Carolina Calvache Quartet featuring Jaleel Shaw at VJC on April 5th at 8:00 PM are $10 for general admission, and $5 for students with I.D. Tickets are available at In the Moment Record Store in Brattleboro, online at www.vtjazz.org or they can be reserved by calling the Vermont Jazz Center ticket line, 802-254-9088, ext. 1.

Next up at the Vermont Jazz Center will be a Tribute to Howard Brofsky on Saturday, April 19th at 8:00 PM.

Who:
CAROLINA CALVACHE QUARTET performs the VJC’s Emerging Artist Series - Carolina Calvache, piano and compositions
Jaleel Shaw, alto saxophone
Yasushi Nakamura, acoustic bass
Rodrigo Recabarren, drums

What: Jazz music influenced by Colombian folkloric tunes, forms and rhythms
When: Saturday, April 5th, 2014 at 8:00 PM
Where:
The Vermont Jazz Center
72 Cotton Mill Hill
#222
Brattleboro, VT 05301

Tickets:
$10 general admission, $5.00 students.
Available online at www.vtjazz.org, by phone 802 254 9088, in person at In
The Moment, Main St., Brattleboro, VT

On Friday, April 4, the Brattleboro Music Center presents Musicians From Marlboro at Centre Congregational Church in Brattleboro, VT,  in the final concert of its 2013-14 Chamber Music Series.

Musicians From Marlboro, the touring extension of the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, offers exceptional young professional musicians together with seasoned artists in varied chamber music programs. The resulting ensembles offer audiences the chance to both discover seldom-heard masterworks and enjoy fresh interpretations of chamber music favorites.

The Musicians from Marlboro touring program has introduced to American audiences many of today’s leading solo and chamber music artists early in their careers, and in the process has offered these artists valuable performing experience and exposure.

The Musicians From Marlboro concert in Brattleboro features Tibi Cziger, clarinet; Natalya Rose Vrbsky, bassoon; Wei-Ping Chou, horn; Julianne Lee, violin; David McCarroll, violin; Dimitri Murrath, viola; Judith Serkin, cello; and Tony Flynt, bass, performing Lyrisches Andante by Max Reger; Cypresses for String Quartet, B. 152 by Antonín Dvorák; and Octet in F Major, D. 803 by Franz Schubert.

Cited as an “exciting soloist” by the NY Times, Israeli clarinetist Tibi Cziger is passionate soloist and chamber musician, and has performed a vast amount of chamber music and recital literature for the clarinet in numerous concerts and live and recorded television and radio broadcasts, in Israel, Korea, Europe, and the US. He is the artistic director and founder of the Israeli Chamber Project, a distinguished and award winning chamber ensemble active in Israel and the US, and has participated in festivals such as Marlboro, Musique en Brionnais (France) and the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, to name a few. Mr. Cziger appeared as a soloist with the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen, iPalpiti String Orchestra at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, Metropolis Ensemble, and Israel Chamber Orchestra and has performed as guest clarinetist with chamber ensembles and orchestras in Israel, Europe and the US. He served as the principal clarinetist of the Israeli Camerata Orchestra and co-principal at the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.

Mr. Cziger holds an Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School, M.Mus degree from the University of Southern California, and a B.Mus. degree magna cum laude from the Tel Aviv music Academy. His main mentors include Charles Neidich, Yehuda Gilad, Richard Lesser, and Itzhak Kazzap. He currently resides in the exciting town of Tel Aviv, with his wife, cellist Michal Korman, and their daughter iyar.

A native of Taiwan, Wei-Ping Chou, began playing at the age of nine and was a prizewinner at the Taiwan National Horn Competition three years in a row.  After accepting an invitation to enroll at Idyllwild Arts Academy in Southern California, she went on to earn degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and then the Juilliard School, becoming the first horn player in the school’s history to be awarded the Artist Diploma. Her primary teachers have been Jerome Ashby and Julie Landsman.

Wei-Ping’s career as a performer has been extraordinarily diverse. In 2007, while still completing her Artist Diploma, Wei-Ping was appointed Acting Assistant Principal Horn of the San Diego Symphony by Maestro Jahja Ling. Her extensive experience as an orchestral performer includes performances with The American Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra of the St. Lukes. As a chamber musician, she is a member of the newly established all-girl-horn ensemble, Genghis Barbie, and she has recorded with the American Brass Quintet, been a member of the Urban Brass Quintet, and appeared with the Jupiter Chamber Players, BargeMusic, and the Wind Soloists of New York, to name just a few. She has also appeared as an orchestral soloist, most notably in a performance of Gliere’s Horn Concerto with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra.

Natalya Rose Vrbsky, bassoon, enjoys an active and wide-ranging performance schedule, regularly appearing throughout the major cities on the East Coast as soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician.  In addition to being a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, she is a frequent substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra, including on two recent tours of Asia, and performs regularly with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Academy of Vocal Arts Orchestra, and most major Philadelphia ensembles.  She has also performed with a variety of orchestras across the US including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Virginia Symphony and as guest principal with the orchestras of Harrisburg, Delaware, Delaware Opera, Syracuse, and Knoxville.  In addition to her work in the northeast, she currently holds the principal bassoon chair in the Sarasota Opera Orchestra, a position she has held since 2010.  Equally at home in a chamber setting, Rose has performed as a guest artist with the Saratoga Chamber Players, the Bay Chamber Concerts, Astral Artists Concerts, the Knights ensemble, Orchestra 2001, and A Far Cry, among many others.  She received a bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory, followed by a master’s degree from Temple University and a diploma from the Curtis Institute.  Her primary teachers were Richard Ranti and Daniel Matsukawa. 

David McCarroll has been described as “a violinist of mature musicality and deep understanding of his repertoire whose playing is distinguished by clarity of form and line” by Musik Heute. Winner of the 2012 European Young Concert Artists Auditions and Silver Medalist of the Klein International Competition, he made his concerto debut in 2002 with the London Mozart Players and has since performed with many orchestras both in Europe and the US. He has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, New Zealand, Tunisia, Thailand, Panama, El Salvador, Argentina, Chile, Israel, and the US. His performances have been broadcast on radio stations including WGBH Boston, WQXR New York, and National Public Radio.

David was born in Santa Rosa, California in 1986 and began studying the violin with Helen Payne Sloat at the age of 4. At 8, he attended the Crowden School of Music in Berkeley studying with Anne Crowden. When David was 13, he received an invitation to join an international group of 60 young music students at the Yehudi Menuhin School outside London where he studied with Simon Fischer. David continued his studies with Donald Weilerstein and Miriam Fried at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he received his Masters degree and with Antje Weithaas in the Konzertexamen program at the Hanns Eisler Academy in Berlin.

A member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Julianne Lee recently received the Presser Music Award. She made her solo debut at age 7 with the Lake Placid Symphonietta. Subsequently, she has also appeared as soloist with the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Korea and the Baden-Baden Philharmonie in Germany. Her chamber music collaborations include concerts with such renowned artists as Joseph Silverstein, Peter Wiley, Roger Tapping, Samuel Rhodes and Arnold Steinhardt. Ms. Lee has participated at the Marlboro Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and on a European tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra as Guest Principal Violist. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in violin performance and a Diploma in viola performance from the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Victor Danchenko, Joseph Silverstein and Joseph DePasquale. She received her master's degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, working with Donald Weilerstein and Kim Kashkashian. She currently serves as the acting assistant concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. 

Born in Brussels, Belgian violist Dimitri Murrath has made his mark as a viola soloist of the international scene, performing regularly in venues including Jordan Hall (Boston), Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Royal Festival Hall (London), Kioi Hall (Tokyo), the National Auditorium (Madrid), and Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels).

A first prize winner at the Primrose International Viola Competition, Belgian violist Dimitri Murrath has won numerous awards, including second prize at the First Tokyo International Viola Competition, the special prize for the contemporary work at the ARD Munich Competition.

An avid chamber musician, Murrath has collaborated with Miriam Fried, Pamela Frank, Richard Goode, Laurence Lesser, Gidon Kremer, Menahem Pressler, Radovan Vlatkovic, Mitsuko Uchida, and members of the Cleveland, Mendelssohn, Juilliard, Emerson, and Guarneri Quartets.

Violist Dimitri Murrath began his musical education at the Yehudi Menuhin School studying with Natalia Boyarsky, and went on to work in London with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He
graduated with an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory as a student of Kim Kashkashian. He is on the Viola Faculty of New England Conservatory and Longy School of Music.

Judith Serkin began her 'cello studies in Puerto Rico with Marta Casals Istomin and continued with David Soyer, at the Curtis Institute of Music. She was also a student of Mischa Schneider. Ms. Serkin was a member of
the Iceland Symphony, in Reykjavik, and of both the Guilford and the Hebrew Arts (later known as the Mendelssohn) String Quartets. A founding member of the Soldier Creek Music Festival in Nevada, she has been a participant at both  the Yellow Barn and Marlboro Music School and Festivals,in Vermont,  and has also been on numerous Music from Marlboro tours. Ms. Serkin has performed across the United States and Canada; in Switzerland; and has toured extensively throughout France and Japan.  She makes her home in
Guilford, Vermont and is a member of the Brattleboro Music Center faculty. The instrument that she is playing was made by Joseph Hill, in 1760.

Double bassist Tony Flynt enjoys an active career as a chamber musician, soloist, and orchestral player. Based in Brooklyn, NY, Tony frequently collaborates with East Coast Chamber Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Mark Morris Dance Group, Ensemble ACJW, and with the American Symphony Orchestra as guest principal bass. Tony has also served as guest principal of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Tony has been fortunate to perform with members of the Cleveland, Guarneri, Juilliard, Takacs, and Vermeer Quartets, in addition to appearances with the Borromeo String Quartet and the Peabody Trio. Festival performances include Marlboro, Tanglewood, Verbier, Yellow Barn, and Kneisel Hall, among others. In 2014 and 2015, Tony will join Musicians from Marlboro for national touring.

Tony attended Rice University, graduating cum laude with Bachelor's degrees in Music and Hispanic and Classical Studies. He completed a Professional Studies Certificate at the Colburn School and received a Masters
degree, with Honors, from the New England Conservatory. While at NEC, Tony was awarded the prestigious Edward Hyde Cox Presidential Scholarship, the Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award, and won the 2011 Vanhal Concerto Competition. As a substitute, Tony has joined the bass sections of the Boston, Houston, and San Diego Symphony Orchestras.

Musicians From Marlboro will perform in Brattleboro, VT on Friday, April 4, 7:30 pm, at Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main Street. To purchase concert tickets, ($30, $20, $10), call the Brattleboro Music Center at 802-257-4523 or visit  www.bmcvt.org.  The “Musicians From Marlboro” concert is sponsored by Against the Grain Gourmet. Media support for the BMC Chamber Music Series is provided by Vermont Public Radio.

Kurn Hattin Homes for Children invites the public to attend its 7th Annual Jazz Invitational Wednesday, April 9th at 7:00 pm featuring special guests: the Keene Orchestra, directed by Scott Mullett, jazz singer Samirah Evans, and with Master of Ceremonies, Eugene Uman of the Vermont Jazz Center. This year's program features youth jazz ensembles from Bellows Falls Union High School, Brattleboro Area Middle School, Northfield Mount Herman, Kurn Hattin Homes For Children, Vermont Academy, and the Vermont Jazz Center.

The Keene Orchestra is a regular guest at the Kurn Hattin Jazz Invitational. Its director, Scott Mullett, has performed and toured with some of the great big bands, including those of Artie Shaw and Woody Herman. Mullett is a member of Keene State College's Music Department Faculty.

New Orleans native Samirah Evans has toured Europe, Asia, and  North and South America and shared stages with jazz and blues legends, B.B. King, James Brown, and Irma Thomas. Prior to relocating to Brattleboro,
Vermont in 2006, she performed annually at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Evans currently performs with her band, Samirah Evans and her Handsome Devils. Their latest CD, My Little Bodhisattva, was released in 2009.

This event is open to the public. Admission is a canned/dry good or cash donation for the food shelf at Our Place in Bellows Falls. The concert takes place in Higbie Auditorium in the Mayo Memorial Center at Kurn Hattin Homes in Westminster, Vermont (www.kurnhattin.org). For more information, contact Lisa Bianconi at (802) 721-6931.

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening bluegrass and newgrass by The Lonely Heartstring Band and The Stockwell Brothers at Next Stage on Sunday, April 6 at 7:30 pm.

The Lonely Heartstring Band is Berklee College of Music students George Clements, Patrick M'Gonigle, Matt Witler, Gabe Hirshfeld and Charles Clements. Their music is a combination of old and new styles, melding the sounds of traditional bluegrass with modern songwriting and arranging. The band began with a common love for the music of The Beatles, bringing some of their favorite songs to life while attempting to remain true to the original arrangements.

Bruce, Barry and Alan Stockwell's music spans traditional and progressive styles, but their trademark acoustic sound features new singer/songwriter material recast with banjo, alternative rhythms and three-part harmonies. Featuring 2005 Merlefest bluegrass banjo contest winner Bruce Stockwell, the trio covers straight ahead bluegrass songs, finger picked acoustic guitar ballads, full tilt breakdowns and traditional mandolin tunes mixed in with more unusual fare - Americana melodies riding world beat grooves and Celtic, jazzy, even neo-classical instrumentals. “Tasty arrangements; brotherly harmonies, perfectly blended instruments and great songs.” – Music Revue

Next Stage is located in the former United Church at 15 Kimball Hill in downtown Putney, VT. Tickets for this concert are $14 Advance / $16 At the Door. For information, call 802-387-0102 or 802-254-9276. Advance tickets are available at www.nextstagearts.org, Turn It Up in Brattleboro and Offerings Jewelry in Putney. For more information, visit www.lonelyheartstringband.bandcamp.com, www.stockwellbrothers.com, www.www.nextstagearts.org and www.twilightmusic.org.

SINGING STRONG

A singing program for Seniors

Brattleboro Music Center choral director Susan Dedell leads “ Singing Strong,” a new chorus specifically designed for seniors. Singing has been making big headlines in the health field for the last decade, as multiple studies conclude that singing in a group is one of the most effective ways to stay healthy, alert, and happy throughout the course of a life time. Among its many benefits,  singing boosts the immune system, improves heart health, lowers blood pressure, and reduces stress. Best of all, it makes you happier! Susan will lead everyone in songs chosen from a variety of musical styles, mostly from the great song repertoire of the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. Absolutely no prior singing experience or music reading skills necessary! 

Tuesdays, 1:30 - 2:30 pm


New Session starting:  April 22-May 27
  (register now)
Held at St. Michael's Episcopal Church (fully accessible)

Tuition:  $35 / 6 weeks

Advance registration required, call the BMC at  (802) 257-4523

MUSIC APPRECIATION 
Peter & Mary Alice Amidon
Traditional American Sacred Song
Monday, April 14, 1:30-3 pm
Monthly Music & Discussion Series, 2nd Monday of each month
Open to all, $5 suggested, no registration needed.
Brattleboro Music Center, 38 Walnut Street, Brattleboro, VT

ADULT BEGINNING VIOLIN CLASS
Led by Michelle Liechti
Thursdays, 9:30–11am
New session starting May 1 (register now) 5 weeks / tuition $50 / loaner violins available
Brattleboro Music Center, 38 Walnut Street, Brattleboro, VT
Call the BMC at (802) 257-4523 to register

Sacred Works of Schütz and Mendelssohn
Directed by Mary Westbrook-Geha 

This weekend, the Blanche Moyse Chorale will make a joyful noise with performances of sacred works by the German composers Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) and Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). The concert will be performed twice: at 8:00 P.M. on Friday, April 11, at the Immanuel Episcopal Church in Bellows Falls, VT, and at 3:00 P.M. on Sunday, April 13, at Centre Congregational Church, in Brattleboro, VT.

Under the direction of Mary Westbrook-Geha, the Chorale will treat its audience to a rich selection of a cappella works by Schütz , from the heart of the Baroque period, and by Mendelssohn, from the heart of the Romantic period. The selected texts used by both composers are similar -- either psalms or shorter biblical excerpts -- but their musical settings are strikingly different. The contrast between their dynamic, harmonic, and polyphonic treatment opens a fascinating window into the cultural evolution that took place over the two centuries between the composers’ births. The concert’s title, “Make a Joyful Noise”, is derived from the text of Psalm 100, which appears twice in the program, in contrasting musical interpretations by both Mendelssohn and Schütz. 

The Blanche Moyse Chorale, founded in 1978 as a program of the Brattleboro Music Center, is a chamber chorus of approximately thirty singers, who strive to attain the high level of musical artistry exemplified by its original director, Blanche Moyse. For many years, the Chorale was the choral arm of the New England Bach Festival. Since 2007, director Mary Westbrook-Geha has led the Chorale in performances of works by Handel, Copland, Stravinsky, Mendelssohn, Britten, Palestrina, Schütz, Brahms, and of course J.S. Bach. Although based in the Brattleboro, VT, area, the Chorale includes singers from neighboring states and beyond.

Concert tickets purchased in advance are $18 for general seating or $35 for preferred seating, and may be obtained from the Brattleboro Music Center at 802-257-4523, online at brattleborotix.com/boxoffice or bmcvt.org, or from any Chorale member. Tickets purchased at the door are $20 for general seating or $40 for preferred seating. All student tickets (college included) are $10. Both venues are handicapped-accessible. For any special seating needs, advance reservation is appreciated.

Both performances are sponsored by Vermont Public Radio (VPR). For more information, please call the Brattleboro Music Center at 802-257-4523.

Kurn Hattin holds its 7th Annual Jazz Invitational TONIGHT at 7 PM in the Higbie Auditorium in the Mayo Memorial Center at Kurn Hattin in Westminster, VT. With performances by several special guests and area youth jazz ensembles, it's sure to be an amazing evening of swinging entertainment! AND...admission is FREE with a canned food donation for Our Place Food Shelter in Bellows Falls.

Need more encouragement? Here are our top 5 reasons why you ought to be there!

1) You'll enjoy the sultry New Orleans sounds of local jazz singer, Samirah Evans, up close and personal!

2) Scott Mullett and the Keene Jazz Orchestra really know how to bring the swing!

3) Master of Ceremonies, Eugene Uman of the Vermont Jazz Center, makes everything go down smooth.

4) It's a chance to show your support for music programming in our schools!

5) A canned food donation for Our Place Food Shelf gets you in the door and access to all of the above, and much more!!

708 Kurn Hattin Rd, Westminster www.kurnhattin.org

See you there!

The Estey Organ Museum will host a Tour of Estey Organs in Brattleboro, VT on Saturday, May 17, beginning at 1:00 PM. The tour will begin at the First United Methodist Church (home of Estey Opus 1 from 1901) on Putney Rd and conclude at the Museum, 108 Birge Street. Eight pipe organs will be visited, most of which are in playing condition.

The event will include brief demonstration programs on most of the organs. Participants will receive handout sheets describing each instrument and its history. Refreshments will be served at the Museum, and visitors will see and hear the Estey “walk-through” pipe organ as well as other reed organs on display.

1:00 First United Methodist Church, Putney Road
1:30 St. Michael’s Catholic Church, 47 Walnut Street
2:15 B.P.O E. Lodge, No. 1499, formerly home of Julius Harry Estey, 75 Putney Road
2:30 First Church of Christ, Scientist, 57 Putney Road
3:15 The Stone Church, formerly All Souls Unitarian-Universalist Church, 210 Main Street
3:30 Brattleboro Masonic Center, 196 Main Street
4:00 First Baptist Church, 190 Main Street
4:45 Estey Organ Museum, 108 Birge Street; Refreshments & Museum Tour

For further information and directions, phone 802-246-8366.

Lee Chaney had a life-long love of musical instruments, especially those with keyboards.  Over the years he built a sizeable personal collection of instruments of a wide variety, even setting up a small museum in his home so that others could view his collection.  Formerly a Professor of Educational Psychology at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama for over 40 years, Chaney retired to Clinton, NC. He died there on March 4, 2012.

Recently, his son, John Chaney, decided that the Estey Organ Museum in Brattleboro was an appropriate home for a number of these instruments.  In addition to several Estey reed organs, the collection included instruments by other builders who had a historical relationship with Estey, notably Riley Burdett of Putney, as well as instruments illustrating the development of the American reed organ. Further, the collection consisted of framed posters about organ building and other important archival memorabilia.

Philip Stimmel, Managing Director of the museum, travelled to North Carolina and selected those items which most clearly illustrated the important role that Brattleboro played in the 19^th and ^th century reed organ phenomenon in the United States. Windham County was a dynamic hub of activity in the field, and included such well-known builders as Joseph Jones, Riley Burdett, Henry Kirk White, Edwin B. Carpenter and Isaac Hines, all of whom were variously affiliated with Jacob Estey. The Chaney collection also included an organ built by Ross, West and Morse which was delivered to the Poultney, VT Historical Society for its museum of melodeons built in that town.

Perhaps the most important instrument returned to Brattleboro is an Estey Chapel Organ, Style H98.  The organ is significant not only due to the large number of stops it contains, but also because of the beautiful golden pipe top it displays.  While not needed to produce the tones of the organ, these pipe tops were much in demand as an eye-catching adornment.  This organ will be on display in the lobby of the Brattleboro Savings & Loan bank for several weeks, and will be played there by local organists.

The manufacture of reed organs was a phenomenon which swept the United States from approximately 1835 to the 1950’s.  Hundreds of builders dotted the country and competed for customers in the marketplace. These organs were cheaper than pianos, lighter, and did not require tuning, and quickly became the instrument of choice for the well-appointed family parlor.  However, as the middle class became more affluent, they lost their appeal as the piano became the keyboard instrument of choice.

The Vermont Jazz Center will be presenting an evening dedicated to the memory of former board president, trumpeter and educator, Howard Brofsky on Saturday, April 19th at 8:00 PM. This special tribute will include performances by his close musical colleagues and family. In every community that Brofsky settled, be it Queens College, the Louis Armstrong House, the Vermont Jazz Center, or Brattleboro, Vermont, the people have benefited from his wisdom, charm and generosity. Like a single pebble in the water, his spirit lives on through the actions of his family, colleagues, students and friends who continue to channel his enthusiasm and his dedication to the spreading of jazz.

This Saturday evening concert will celebrate Howard’s life through music. Performers will include New York-based musicians Jay Clayton, Cordelia Tapping (voice), Alex Brofsky (horn), Tim Armacost (saxophones), Ray Gallon, Jorn Swart, (piano), Curtis Ostle (bass); local musicians will include Scott Mullett, Sherm Fox (saxophone), Draa Hobbs (guitar), Eugene Uman (piano), George Kaye (bass), Jon Fisher, Claire Arenius (drums). It is likely that surprise guests will appear at the last minute. It will be limited to two-hours.

Howard Brofsky peacefully passed away on October 17th, 2013 at the age of 86. One of Dr. Bebop’s favorite endeavors was to turn friends and students on to the exciting world of bebop. He did this through informal listening sessions, where he would carefully select seminal recordings by the musicians who influenced him in his own development. Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Dexter Young and Louis Armstrong were artists who epitomized the essence of swing and nuance - he had listened to all of them live on numerous occasions and was intimately familiar with their work. Brofsky heard Bird on 52nd Street, he was the key representative of Queens College responsible for the establishment of the Louis Armstrong House, he even jammed with Dexter Gordon at the session studio he built in an old barn in Vermont. Howard Brofsky assimilated and presented the authentic bebop essence; he embraced and imparted it undistilled, always teaching by example. Bebop was at the core of his own sound; he relished sharing its real meaning with peers and students.

The annual concerts that Dr. Bebop offered at the Vermont Jazz Center around his birth month (May) were celebrations of jazz. They became an outlet for him to express his soul with a carefully handpicked band. For all in attendance they were not only listening experiences but joyful lessons in swing, tasteful restraint and melodic invention.

Music resonates with memories and this year we remember Howard in a musical tribute. Saturday, April 19th will be an evening to remember the tremendous effect he had on our lives. This event is open to the public and all are welcome. There is no fee, but donations will be gratefully accepted: 100% of the funds received will go to the Vermont Jazz Center’s Scholarship Fund in Howard Brofsky’s name. This concert has been generously sponsored by William Schutt of Matcor, Inc. Hotel rooms have been provided by the Hampton Inn, media support has been provided by VPR, WFCR, WKVT and the Brattleboro Reformer. The VJC is grateful to the Vermont Arts Council for on-going operational support.

The VJC is handicapped accessible, please call to arrange assistance: 802 254 9088.

Next VJC event will be May 17th: Eugene Uman’s Convergence Project hosting a CD release party!

Who: Friends of Howard Brofsky from New York and the local jazz scene
What: A tribute to one of the most important Jazz musicians in our region
When: Saturday, April 19th, 2014 at 8:00 PM
Where: The Vermont Jazz Center, 72 Cotton Mill Hill, #222, Brattleboro, VT 05301
Tickets: By Donation to support the VJC’s Student Scholarship Fund
Reservations available online at www.vtjazz.org, by phone 802 254 9088, in person at In The Moment, Main St., Brattleboro, VT

Memorial Concert to pay tribute to Howard Brofsky

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present French-Algerian acoustic guitarist, singer and composer Pierre Bensusan at Next Stage on Friday, April 18 at 7:30 pm. If World Music is music that pays tribute to the spirit of a collection of human beings through distinct rhythms, traditional instruments and harmonic colors, Pierre Bensusan can be recognized as one of the most eloquent and diverse world musicians of our time.

Born in Oran, French-Algeria, in 1957, when France was decolonizing its Empire, Pierre Bensusan's family moved to Paris when he was 4. He began formal studies on piano at the age of 7 and at 11 taught himself guitar. Influenced in those early days by the folk revival blooming in Britain, France and North America, Bensusan began first to explore his own diverse musical heritage and then moved to the horizons beyond. At 17, he signed his first recording contract, and one year later his first album “Pres de Paris” won the Grand Prix du Disque upon his debut at the Montreux Festival in Switzerland.

Pierre Bensusan was voted "Best World Music Guitar Player in 2008" by Guitar Player Magazine Readers Choice. His name became synonymous with contemporary acoustic guitar genius, long before the terms New Age, New Acoustic Music or World Music were invented. He has the ability to make a single guitar sound like an entire band as he brings the audience on a mesmerizing musical journey. And yet, the “Mozart of Guitar” is more than what any musician or music lover expects from a guitarist. He is a composer as well as a bilingual and a brave improvisational vocalist, melding whistles and resonant low notes with something like his own scat technique.

There is a sense of something both playful and serious in his work, an unparalleled sense of freedom in his compositions and his improvisations. His playing defies classification - crossing world, classical, jazz, traditional, folk and more. None can be isolated as simply Brazilian, Arabic or French; rather, they represent our world in its current state, a world sharing itself, fusing cultures together in ways we have never experienced.

Pierre Bensusan celebrates forty years of worldwide touring with the 2013 release of “Encore,” a 3-CD journey of live performances spanning his entire career and showcasing his risk-taking, in-the-moment style. It is nominated for the 13th Annual Independent Music Awards “Best Live Performance Album.”

"One of the most unique and brilliant acoustic guitar veterans in the world music scene today" - L.A. Times

Next Stage is located in the former United Church at 15 Kimball Hill in downtown Putney, VT. Tickets for this concert are $20 Advance / $22 At the Door. For information, call 802-387-0102. Advance tickets are available at www.nextstagearts.org, Turn It Up in Brattleboro and Offerings Jewelry in Putney. JD McCliment’s Pub will provide a beer and wine cash bar at the concert. For more information, visit www.pierrebensusan.com, www.www.nextstagearts.org and www.twilightmusic.org.

Marlboro, Vt. -- Friends of Music at Guilford presents its 5th Annual Celebration of Women in Music, the organization's signature season fundraiser, at a private home atop Ames Hill in Marlboro on Saturday, April 26. Guests are treated to a generous buffet of hearty hors d'oeuvres and salads to enjoy on arrival, then are offered a sampling of desserts after the concert program, which begins at 7.

This year's musical interlude is devoted to works by composer Elise Grant (b. 1943), a resident of Dublin, N.H., and Stamford, Conn., who has been featured on a number of prior Friends of Music programs. Nine arias from her comic opera “Santé et Prospérité,” premiered in Switzerland in the mid-’90s, will be sung by soprano, mezzo, and tenor with piano accompaniment, some also with flute or oboe. The chamber music segment of the program will include “Interlude” for flute; “Waltz” for English horn and piano; “Pond in the Forest,” for flute and piano; “Planets in Orbit” for flute, horn, and piano; and a delicious rendition of “The Owl and The Pussycat” for soprano, oboe, and piano.

Tenor James Anderson is familiar to Brattleboro area audiences from a variety of opera and other musical settings, including Friends of Music at Guilford’s Community Messiah Sing. Jim spent many years performing opera in Europe before returning stateside to settle in Brattleboro.

The flutist for this concert is Robin Matathias, who teaches flute and directs flute ensembles at both the Brattleboro Music Center and Keene State College. She has performed on both the East and West coasts as a soloist and in orchestral, opera, chamber, and jazz ensembles.  

The other performers are based in Elise Grant’s New Hampshire musical orbit, including sopranos Amy Knight and Amy St. Louis, ang mezzo Lauren Weiner. Lauren is an award-winning junior Vocal Performance major at Keene State College and a featured soloist with several KSC musical groups this season. Amy St. Louis is a senior Music Education major also featured in several KSC musical groups and theatrical productions. Amy Knight has appeared as a soloist with the Norway Pond Festival Singers, the Nashua Chamber Choir, and the Monadnock Chorus; she has also appeared in premieres of several chamber operas by contemporary New England composers, including Lawrence Siegel and the Baxtraxoi Ensemble.

Cheryl Sharrock, piano, is on the adjunct faculty at Keene State as accompanist and teacher. Her musical career includes being a church music director, composing, arranging, and accompanying for choirs, vocal and instrumental recitals, operas and musicals. Her husband Jim Sharrock is an experienced conductor and has been a professional oboist/English hornist since 1982. Jim is also a member of the adjunct faculty at Keene State, has been the artistic director of the Monadnock Chorus, and conducted for Raylynmor Opera.

A very popular annual Silent Auction of 2-for-1 tickets to regional music, theater, and dance performances, plus a few Gift Certificates and other tempting items, will offer some deals very hard to resist—bidders will save money and FOMAG will benefit from every dollar of their purchase.

Sponsors for the Women in Music benefit for FOMAG's current 48th Season include the Brattleboro Retreat, Cheryl Wilfong: The Meditative Gardener, and PenTangle Studio, as well as a few supporting member households.

Admission is by suggested donation of $35 per person. Reservations are required, so please contact the Friends of Music office to get further information at (802) 254-3600 or by email at office@fomag.org.

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!  

Instrument provided!

The Adult Beginning Violin Class is a GREAT opportunity to explore learning an instrument, with no pressure or expectations. Just 5 lessons, then you decide if it is right for you.

The Adult Beginning Violin Class, is for true beginners interested in “trying out” an instrument.  The ever patient and enthusiastic Michelle Liechti will lead this adult class on Thursdays, from 9:30-11 am, starting May 1, at the BMC. Tuition for 5 sessions is $50 and loaner violins are available.  

In March, the Brattleboro Music Center began offering a new series of adult education programs during the day.  The adult daytime series launches with monthly music appreciation gatherings, a chorus for seniors, and a beginning adult violin class.

The launch of the BMC’s new adult daytime track is a direct response to the region’s decidedly older adult population, and the mounting evidence that engagement in music as we age has significant positive health benefits.

The reported benefits of involvement in music are wide ranging and broadly include elevating mood, relieving pain, reducing stress, improving long-term memory, create a sense of well-being, stimulating positive interactions, facilitating cognitive function, coordinating motor movements and boosting the immune system.

The developmental benefits of music study for children have been well documented for many years, but now significant findings are also available on the importance of music to our well being throughout our lives and especially as we age.

The BMC’s new adult daytime programs are structured for maximum accessibility, they require no previous musical experience to participate; and tuitions range between $5 and $10 per session.

Join the BMC for the Adult Beginning Violin Class starting next Thursday:

Adult Beginning Violin Class
Led by Michelle LIechti
Starting May 1
Thursdays, 9:30–11am
5 weeks / tuition $50

Loaner violins available
Call the BMC now to register:  802-257-4523 

Hope to see you there!

VJC Presents a CD Release Concert with the Convergence Project, Saturday, May 17th at 8:00 PM.

Eugene Uman’s Convergence Project is back for their yearly Vermont Jazz Center concert on May 17th at 8:00 PM, presenting music that fuses jazz and rock with Colombian rhythms. This concert will celebrate the release of a new album, Six Elements, recorded last October at Guilford Sound and mixed at Northern Tracks Studio in Wilmington.

On May 17th, the Convergence Project will appear at the Jazz Center. All members will be present except guest cellist Eugene Friesen. Uman will guide the ensemble from the piano, in the good company of Michael Zsoldos on saxophones, Jeff Galindo on Trombone, Sebastian Cruz on guitar, Stomu Takeishi on bass, and Satoshi Takeishi on drums. Uman refers to the Convergence Project as his dream band. Each musician is skilled at reading and interpreting his compositions, they are all strong soloists, each with a unique sound and an individualized vocabulary. The entire band is able to authentically interpret both Latin and swing rhythms and everyone is fearless, willing to stretch out into unfamiliar territory and jump into the abyss of the unknown.

For the VJC performance on May 17th, the Convergence Project will be playing material from their new album as well as debuting a few new compositions. Over half of the material from Six Elements, utilizes rhythms borrowed from Colombian folkloric music: porro, pasillo, cumbia, puya and bullerengue. Uman uses these rhythms as a springboard for creativity. His process usually starts with listening to and singing along with a recording of the rhythm until a melodic motif that fits over it can be sung. Once a strong basic idea is established an inevitable logic unfolds revealing a structure which is then refined. Uman composed much of the material during a retreat at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, NH, where he spent two solid weeks composing in a quiet cabin in the woods.

In preparing for the album, there was ample time for the musicians to delve deeply into the compositions: the form, the harmony, the varied rhythms and melodies. The arrangements intentionally travel far afield from traditional structures by incorporating odd meters and musical language from the worlds of jazz and rock. But the pieces based on Colombian rhythms still retain their original folkloric essence. This is because the foundation of these compositions are rhythmical grooves which give immutable finger-prints to their sound. Furthermore, everyone in the Convergence Project (especially guitarist, Sebastian Cruz who is from Bogotá) has a direct, personal connection to Colombian culture. They bring a sense of respect and affinity to the source material gained from having visited this rich, complex country and directly assimilating the deep roots of the music’s origin. Each individual is encouraged to add his own voice to the big picture. The band concept is founded on the synergy of each musician’s personal style in combination with the primordial, rhythmical pulse.

Now in its sixth year as a core group, the Convergence Project, in addition to Uman on piano, features:

Drummer Satoshi Takeishi has appeared on over 75 recordings including those by Latin giants Nestor Torres, Ray Barretto, Hector Martignon and Eliane Elias. Satoshi has also performed with Laszlo Gardony, Badal Roy, Erik Friedlander, Colombian saxophonist Antonio Arnedo, Paul Winter, Anthony Braxton, Theo Bleckmann/Ben Monder, Joel Harrison and Rob Brown. Satoshi’s roots are deep in jazz, Latin and experimental music; he can be found on recordings including Marc Johnson, Eddie Gomez, Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, Mark Murphy, Herbie Mann, and the Toshiko Akiyoshi Big Band. His unique style incorporates ethnic percussion and electronics along with the traditional drum set. He currently works with pianist/conceptualist, Shoko Nagai.

Electric bassist Stomu Takeish has been praised by critics for his sensitivity to sound and timbre. He has played in many international jazz festivals and at major venues throughout the the world. In Downbeat's 57th Critics Poll, Stomu was the winner in the category of Electric Bass, Rising Star. He has appeard on over 45 recordings including those with Paul Motian’s Electric Bebop Band, Lazlo Gardony, Dave Tronzo, Henry Threadgill & Make a Move, Badal Roy, Erik Friedlander, Cuong Vu, Myra Melford's Crush, Steve Gorn, John Zorn and many others.

Saxophonist Michael Zsoldos has performed with Paquito D’Rivera, Sheila Jordan, Ernie Watts, Matt Wilson, Rebecca Parris, and Jerry Bergonzi and has opened for piano legend McCoy Tyner. Michael has arranged for and performed with the horn section of the Dartmouth Gospel Choir and Chicago’s One Accord. They performed at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Umbria, Napoli, Rome, Chicago’s House of Blues, Jazz at Lincoln Center and at the Obama Inauguration. Zsoldos plays with the Discover Jazz Festival Big Band in Burlington, VT and the Vermont Jazz Center Big Band in Brattleboro, VT. For six years, Michael was the Band Director at Woodstock Union High School and Middle School and is currently on the teaching faculties of Castleton State College and Interplay Jazz Camp.

Trombonist Jeff Galindo sums up his personal musical philosophy in one phrase: “Music doesn’t lie. We can speak lies, but a musician plays who he is.” When Jeff picks up his horn, the truth of that statement becomes obvious. Every utterance is crazy wisdom: beyond thought but with deep roots in study and talent. Jeff has toured the world with Phil Woods, Makoto Ozone, the Artie Shaw Orchestra, Irving Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. He was Trombonist and Musical Director for Esperanza Spalding’s recent world tour and played on her Grammy-award winning CD, Radio Music Society. He has performed with Chick Corea, Clark Terry, Joe Lovano, George Russell, Slide Hampton, and Johnny Griffin, Gunther Schuller, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Bergonzi, Bobby Shew, The Boston Pops Orchestra, and the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra among many others. In Boston, Jeff performs regularly with the Greg Hopkins Big Band and Nonet, the Galindo/Phaneuf Sextet plus his double quartet with George Garzone. He is currently one of the top free-lancing trombonists in the Boston area.

Guitarist Sebastian Cruz often mixes musical elements from his Colombian roots with those of New York City life. He focuses on teaching, writing for film and writing and performing with own group, “Cheap Landscape,” which has released three acclaimed CDs. Sebastian has performed throughout the U.S., Europe and Colombia including the Mozart-Saal from Vienna’s Kozerthaus, Joe’s Pub, BAM Cafe, Symphony Space, Summer Stage-Central Park in New York, A-Trane in Berlin, among many others. Sebastian has taught Colombian music at Columbia University. As a composer Sebastian won theVan Lier Fellowship from Meet The Composer, and an ASCAP award.

In an interview with Chris Lenois, Uman stated: “Each of these musicians brings vast knowledge and wisdom to musical performance. In putting together the Convergence Project, I have created a situation in which I could effectively express all the styles that influence my composition. These musicians go beyond that objective and add depth, sophistication and fun. This band is extremely exciting, I am honored to perform with them and feel very fortunate that they are permanent members of my recording ensemble. The Convergence Project is a dream come true.”
The Convergence Project at VJC, Saturday, May 17th at 8:00 PM is made possible with generous financial support from the McKenzie Family Charitable Trust and the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.  Hospitality provided by the Hampton Inn of Brattleboro and underwritten by VPR and WFCR.

Tickets for the Convergence Project at VJC, May 17th, are $20 general admission, $15 for students with I.D. (contact VJC about educational discounts); available at In the Moment in Brattleboro, or online at www.vtjazz.org. Tickets can also be reserved by calling the Vermont Jazz Center ticket line, 802-254-9088, ext. 1.

Short Summary
Who: Eugene Uman’s Convergence Project: Eugene Uman, piano and compositions; Michael Zsoldos, saxophone; Jeff Galindo, trombone; Sebastián Cruz, guitar; Stomu Takeishi, electric bass; Satoshi Takeishi, drums
What: Jazz influenced by the rhythms of Colombia and the vibe of rock
When: Saturday, May 17th, 2014 at 8:00 PM
Where: The Vermont Jazz Center, 72 Cotton Mill Hill, #222, Brattleboro, VT 05301

Tickets available: online at www.vtjazz.org by phone 802 254 9088, in person at In The Moment, Main St., Brattleboro, VT.

The Brattleboro Music Center is offering a full line-up of new
programs this summer. 

Children as young as 5, teens and adults will find opportunities to play, sing and be part of ensembles.  

Programs for kids include “Camp Presto” for 5-9 year-olds, which provides a great introduction to music and playing an instrument; “Time Traveling Through Music” for 7-12 year olds creatively explores time through music; “Traditional Arts Camp” for 9-14 year-olds explores traditional music and arts;  “Musicals Workshop” for 7-12 year olds is all about singing for theater; “Chamber Music for Kids” for ages 9-12 and  “Piano Duets” for ages 10-17, explore the fun of making music with others; there is a beginning guitar camp for ages 8-10; and also a place for horn players in the BMC’s Trumpet Camp for elementary and middle school students.

Teens have many opportunity to sing and play this summer at the BMC with the Collegiate Style A Cappella Workshop; Get Real Singing Day and Getaway Camps; Piano Duets and Four Hands; a beginning guitar camp; HIT IT! Percussion Camp; Trumpet Camp; Open D Tuning on the Guitar; Music Improvisation; flute, cello and chamber music ensembles. 

Summer is also a time for adults to enjoy the enrichment of music in one of the BMC’s ensembles for flute, cello, trumpet or chamber music, including Camp Andantino; by attending the Northern Roots Traditional Music Weekend; or during one of it’s weeklong program that include Piano Four Hands; Open D Tuning on the Guitar; and Music Improvisation.

The BMC is also offering a weeklong A Cappella Arranging course, which provides a professional development opportunity for educators, and is open to high-school students and adults.

Full details about the Brattleboro Music Center’s Summer Programs can be found at www.bmcvt.org or by calling the BMC at 802-257-4523.   Registration is currently underway, and early registration is encouraged.

Get ready, Brattleboro. The wolves are coming to church.

The Brattleboro Concert Choir, directed by Susan Dedell, joyfully present Paul Winter’s “Missa Gaia" on Saturday, May 17^th at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, May 18^th at 4 p.m.  Both concerts will be at Centre Congregational Church, downtown Brattleboro.

And the wolves?  Their recorded voices, along with those of loons, whales, and harp seals, will join with the men and women of the Brattleboro Concert Choir in interconnected harmony in this joyful, rhythmic, and contemporary mass for the earth.

“Missa Gaia" originated when the Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City asked saxophonist Paul Winter to create new music for the mass. Winter realized that he wanted to create a Mass that was both ecumenical and ecological. He embarked upon a long study of the great historical Masses, and was encouraged to know that many elaborate and historically important masses from the Middle Ages and Renaissance were based on popular tunes, including drinking songs and folk ballads. Winter said, “I had no drinking songs in mind, but I did have a fine melody from a wolf that fit perfectly with the words “Kyrie eleison.”

The female tundra wolf sings a four note howl, usually in a seven time pattern. She uses a slightly different embellishment each time, sometimes barely perceptible to human hearing. This four note pattern includes the interval known as the tritone, an interval considered so mysterious medieval ears that it was regarded as the interval of the Devil. Paul Winter wanted to rethink our perception, remarking “it is entirely appropriate that this wolf-call be the main motif of the Earth Mass. For just as we are now graduating from our inherited European fear of wolves and wilderness, so may other devils and dragons we conjure with our minds disappear, as we come to resonate with the greater community of life. This is the purpose of the Missa Gaia.”

As one music reviewer recently noted, ”This piece begs the ear to listen and the soul to respond.”

“Celebration and joyful gratitude is central to this piece,” says director Susan Dedell. “Even in the more soulful moments, there is a sense of wonder  that is rooted in abundance. The music seems to breathe a sense of spaciousness, a generous exhilaration. I think ‘Missa Gaia' is in a class of it’s own – a truly satisfying and complete experience.”

A particularly unique aspect of “Missa Gaia" is that it is a collaborative and ongoing creation. The piece originated as an interweaving of creative ideas from all the members of the Paul Winter Consort, including Winter, Paul Halley, Jim Scott, Oscar Castro-Neves, and Kim Oler.  In subsequent performances, the core movements of the “Missa Gaia" remain, but new movements have been written – and are still being written -- that may be added to the work as the director desires, giving “Missa Gaia" a work of ongoing creation and evolution.

In the spirit of evolution, music director Susan Dedell decided to invite several instrumentalists that were, in her view, the next generation of fine musicians.   “I wanted to have guest musicians for this concert who were either former or current students of the musicians of my generation who were associated with this piece,” says director Susan Dedell. “This sense of continuity and connectedness seems so appropriate for this piece, not to mention the fact that they are awesome musicians!”

Guest vocal soloist for the concert is the dynamic Zara Bode. Zara is a founding member of the Sweetback Sisters, and is an active studio musician in New York. Zara was recently heard in Winged Productions “Three in the Wilderness."   

Soprano saxophonist Tony Speranza, Jr., is a graduate of Hartt College of Music and a BUHS alumni. He is a member of the Asylum Quartet, which recently won the Grand Prize and the Gold Medal at the 2014 Chamber Music Competition in Boston. This distinction is even more significant considering that they are the first saxophone quartet to receive this honor in the history of the competition. He is also the son of local music teacher Tony Speranza, Sr., and a former piano student of Dedell’s.

Cellist Marta Roma, from Barcelona, Spain, is a student of Eugene Friesen at the Berklee School of Music. Friesen is a member of the Paul Winter Consort and featured on the original recording and is delighted to be mentoring Marta for these performances. 

Percussionist Stefan Amidon will be joining his former teacher and mentor Steve Rice as percussionists for the piece.  After leaving Brattleboro, Stefan went on to attend the Jazz program at Oberlin College and has an active freelance career.

Other instrumentalists for the program include oboist Aaron Ichiro Hilbrun and pianist Brian Fairley. Hilbrun is a versatile musician who is currently on the faculty of the Florida Gulf Coast University, oboist with the Sarasota Opera, Northeast Symphony Orchestra, and the Walt Disney World Orchestra.  Pianist Brian Fairley is the music director for Double Edge Theater and maintains an very active schedule as a pianist, coach, and director in the Boston area.

Join the Brattleboro Concert Choir for “Missa Gaia” on Saturday, May 17, 7:30 pm, and Sunday, May 18, 4 pm, at Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT.  Tickets, $15 general, $8 students, are available by calling the Brattleboro Music Center at 802-257-4523, or by visiting www.bmcvt.org.

Brattleboro Concert Choir presents

MISSA GAIA

Directed by Susan Dedell

Saturday, May 17, 7:30 pm AND Sunday, May 18, 4pm

Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT

Electric Fence will play Thursday night, May 15, at Whetstone Station in Brattleboro. We're very excited to have our friends Mark Trichka on mandolin and Lisa Brande on fiddle for the show. Electric Fence is Steve Carmichael, Howard Weiss-Tisman, Jonny Sheehan and Jeremy Holch. We play original music and cover rock, swing, rhythm and blues and country, finding the funky groove throughout. Music starts at 8:30 and is free.