The Abrams Brothers
Sunday, October 14, 2012 - 3:00 pm

 As more and more Disney fledglings and aspiring pop princesses dominate the emerging young artist scene, the focal point in music shifts farther and farther away from the actual music.  We see glitter and glamour replace originality and creativity.  We see terms like “musicianship” and “virtuoso” become obsolete and the profession of performer transform into a mere placeholder for celebrity.

However, with the release of Blue on Brown, The Abrams Brothers – John, 18, James, 15, and cousin Elijah, 18 – will bring the focus back to the music and represent young musicians as they should be: as artists. What better way to do so than with a tribute album to the folk legends who epitomize the artistry of musical performers?

The 12-track album, the third release from The Abrams Brothers, is one-half Bob Dylan, one-half Arlo Guthrie and one hundred percent The Abrams Brothers. They successfully capture the homegrown, down to earth essence of Dylan and Guthrie, but not without injecting their own personality and putting their own bluegrass-gospel twist.

Blue on Brown was produced by Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and producer Chris Brown, who is well known for his longstanding musical partnership with Kate Fenner, former bandmate of The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, and his work with Tony Scherr, Ani DiFranco and The Barenaked Ladies.

“[The Abrams] are an immensely wonderful and talented family and so steeped in many traditions of music,” said Brown. “It is just so apparent in their work, but also just so full of life and energy that everything inhabits the present tense with them. It’s like they bring tradition to the table all the time, but it’s really living and beautified.”

The Abrams Brothers are fourth-generation musicians and have musical roots reaching back to their great-grandparents. Musical collaborations spanning generations in the Abrams family, be it at hometown performances, in the recording studio or on tour, are practically family tradition.

John and James, who started playing at the ages of 9 and 6, respectively, and Elijah demonstrate mastery over their instruments (John on guitar, mandolin and violin, James on violin and viola, and Elijah on upright bass) and vocal chords, sounding like well-rounded, fully developed veteran musicians. 

With as many credits to their name as The Abrams Brothers have, veteran is not far out of reach even at their young ages. In 2005, the Ontario-based group became the youngest Canadians to appear on Nashville’s iconic Grand Ole Opry, where many stars before them, like Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and, more recently, Garth Brooks and Carrie Underwood, have stood. They have already traveled overseas to play a European music tour in 2006 that took them through four countries and to perform at the 2007 and 2008 Jacob’s Ladder Folk Festival in Israel. In 2006, they received the Daniel Pearl Memorial violin, given to especially gifted young musicians in honor of international journalist and musician Daniel Pearl, who was taken hostage and killed in Pakistan in 2002.  

Ann Fontanella

Ann Fontanella
Thursday, November 8, 2012 - 7:30 pm

Ann began the study of violin at the age of 6. Shortly after her 10th birthday, she debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of David Zinman and began private studies with the renowned artist, Erick Friedman. At the age of 14, Ann was one of the youngest artists accepted to the MM/Certificate program at Yale University. She has collaborated with Elmar Oliviera in furthering the development of musical style.  Her debut concert at London's Wigmore Hall was acclaimed one of the "top five concerts" of the 2005 concert season. Heading off the 2006 concert year with a performance at Weil Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall in New York City, Ann's performance elicited rave audience response answered by numerous encores. A review by writer Dr. John Birchell hailed Ann as "the only working artist today who might be mistaken for Heifetz".  Following the 2006 performances, Ann turned toward studies at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 2010, and developed several studios in the Philadelphia region.  In October, 2007 Ann was a featured artist in the highly prestigious Rising Stars series of the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, and it was proclaimed that Ann’s performances was the best attended performance eliciting numerous encores from the audience.  An audience reviewer of the Bedford performance in May of 2008 elicited the statement “With the presence of a fairytale princess and the diverse ability of a virtuoso, she effectively tossed off a repertoire ranging from the breathtaking Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto to Henri Vieuxtemps’ electrifying variations on Yankee Doodle with conviction and verve.”

In addition to her recognition as a virtuoso performer, Ann is also known as a commissioned composer. In 2001 and 2002, she was an award recipient in the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Competition. Ann was also featured in a Symphony Magazine article about young composers ("Born to Compose", May/June 2003). Her style has been described as early Romantic by Jung Ho Pak, conductor of the New Haven Symphony, and appeals to a wide range of audiences. Her studies in composition began at the age of 11 at the Peabody Conservatory of Music with Dr. Paul Mathews and continued at West Chester University at the age of 15 with Dr. Robert Maggio.

Ann has received numerous awards in violin performance from widely recognized organizations, including the Albert Greenfield Competition, Davidson Institute, and the Virtu Foundation. In 2003, she was an invited guest on cable television's "Connecticut Images", and appeared in November of 2004 on CN8's program "Real Life". Ann's radio credits began in April of 2003 with the program "From the Top" where she can be heard on PRI/NPR with concert pianist Christopher O'Riley. Her recording of "Wellenspiel" was released in May 2004, on "Palimpsest" (a Yale University publication). Her first CD, “Bach, Schubert, Bruch” was released in 2005 and is available through distributors and retailers including CD Baby, Amazon, and i-Tunes. Performing in recitals and as a featured soloist with orchestras throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions, Ann's repertoire includes all standard works for violin.

Vida Guitar Quartet

Vida Guitar Quartet
Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - 7:30 pm

The VIDA Guitar Quartet brings together four guitarists of exceptional artistry who share a passion for chamber music. After their debut at the World Youth Guitar Festival in 2007, the Quartet have rapidly gained a reputation as one of the most dynamic guitar ensembles in the UK, performing at venues including Kings Place (London), the Sage (Gateshead), St George’s (Bristol) and other events such as London Guitar Festival in the Fall, Bath International Guitar Festival, Dilllington Guitar Festival, and Winchester Guitar Festival. 

Mark Ashford is an internationally renowned performer and teacher.  A former scholarship student at both Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, Mark finished his studies with the eminent guitarist David Russell in Vigo, Spain. He is a prize winner at many national and international competitions including the Guitar Foundation of America, Alessandria International Guitar Competition, Scandinavian International Guitar Competition, Julian Bream Prize, and BBC Radio 2 Young Musician.  He has performed as a soloist at major concert halls including, the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Bridgewater Hall, Queens Hall (Edinburgh), St George’s Bristol and the Guildhall London.  Mark’s latest solo CD is of Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’  recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas Cleobury. He teaches at the Birmingham Conservatoire of Music and in 2003 was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music for his achievements in the music profession.

 Mark Eden and Christopher Stell are well known as the Eden Stell Guitar Duo, one of the most innovative guitar ensembles in the world. They formed in 1990 whilst studying at the Royal Academy of Music, and continued their studies with Sérgio and Odair Assad in Brussels. The duo’s career was launched auspiciously as winners of both the South East Young Musicians Platform and the Park Lane Group young artist concert series. Since then they have gone on to record eight CDs on the BGS, Docker and Hänssler Classic labels, their latest ‘Music for an Island’ BGS117 is a multimedia CD. Mark and Christopher have perform in over 20 countries at venues including London’s Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre and Germany’s Stuttgart and Beethoven Halle. Concerto engagements have included performances with renowned ensembles such as the Prague Chamber Orchestra, and the duo are the only guitarists since Julian Bream to receive an ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone Magazine. They hold teaching positions at the Royal College of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire and Guildhall School of Music and Drama Junior department, and give classes in other music academies and guitar festivals all over the world. They were elected Associates of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of their performing achievements and are D’Addario strings sponsored artists.

Helen Sanderson studied guitar at the Royal College of Music with Charles Ramirez, graduating with both the Madeline Walton prize for guitar and the prestigious Anthony Saltmarsh Bursary. Her active concert career has included concerts at major international guitar festivals and recitals at the Purcell Room, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Barbican Hall, the Academy of Arts (Berlin), the British Embassy in Vienna, Bath International Guitar Festival and Winchester Guitar Festival. In addition to her solo performances, Helen is also much in demand as an adjudicator, recording artist and accompanist for voice and guitar repertoire, working in partnerships with Mark Wilde (tenor) ‘Ancient Melodies’ (Docker Records), Susan Legg (mezzo-soprano), and the eminent countertenor James Bowman.

‘Love, the Magician’ (BGS118) is the VIDA Guitar Quartet’s debut CD recording with the BGS label with a programme of distinctly Andalucian flavour.

VIDA Guitar Quartet play D'Addario strings.

www.vidagq.com

Redhead Express & The Walker Family

Redhead Express & The Walker Family
Sunday, March 17, 2013 - 3:00 pm

 Brett grew up in rural southwestern Idaho, eldest of 7, born into a family of singers which extends back generations.  Apryll grew up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, 9 of 10, and all sang, played piano, and at least a couple other instruments each.  It all began when Brett sang to Apryll on their first date.  Who could say no to an Elvis song?  It was love at first sight and sound.

 Apryll was a concert pianist and believes the love for music began when the kids were very young.  “They grew up listening to classical music, and Daddy singing to them.  They were bound to love music!”  She began teaching them piano at age 5, got them singing and taking Suzuki Violin, and eventually the girls each wanted to try their hand at another instrument.  Apryll recalls, “One day we realized we had a family band, and we decided to do something with it.  We began singing at Farmer’s Markets, Nursing Homes and local coffee shops.  People really liked us, and we thought we ought to do something more with our newfound love of music.” 

 One day, during a major mid-life crisis Brett asked Apryll, “What would you do if we had ALL the money in the world and nothing was stopping us, you would do it even if you never got credit for doing it?”  Apryll declared, “I would take the family out on the road and study this music we’ve fallen in love with!” After a family meeting and lots of personal prayer, it was unanimous.  The family would sell their brand new home they had just built and moved into 3 months earlier, sell everything, buy an RV and hit the road to study the root music of America.

The Walkers left their Alaskan home Thanksgiving Day 2007 and have not looked back.  They have played across the country, from California to Florida, doing 200 shows a year at performing arts centers, fairs, festivals, churches, and schools.  Having performed two seasons in Branson, and now pursuing a country career in Nashville, the Redhead Express has become a sought after show, considered highly entertaining. Their show is filled with variety, literally a song for everyone. The show is called an American Roots Show, featuring country, bluegrass, old timey, Irish, gospel, originals, and even 50’s and 60’s done acoustically.  Redhead Express features tight family harmonies, hard driving instrumentals, and a ton of fun!

 In Branson, Missouri, Redhead Express was nominated for Best Family Show.  Kendra was given the committee chair award for her vocal prowess.  LaRae was awarded banjo player of the year; Alisa most outstanding young female artist; and Meghan was awarded bass player of the year.  Kendra also won the FAME Award in the Rio Grande Valley for her songwriting skills.  Brett has been nominated twice for Male Vocalist through SPBGMA.  The Redhead Express was also nominated through SPBGMA for CD of the year for Paintin’ the Town Red, and Entertaining Band of the Year. The National Traditional Country Music Association also awarded Redhead Express, CD of the Year for Paintin’ the Town Red.

 Industry professionals describe the ascendance of Redhead Express as extraordinary.  Without the help of an agency, they have performed nearly 1,000 shows and are booked 2 years out with coveted pricing and venues. Shortly after arriving in Nashville, Redhead Express was blessed to meet one of the finest producers in the country, Paul Worley. Producer of the Dixie Chicks, Martina McBride, Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry, among others, Mr. Worley has worked with the Redhead Express the past year in the development of their talent and their new country sound. They are looking to go into the studio with Mr. Worley at the end of 2011 to record the first songs of their upcoming country album.

 Side Street Strutters Jazz Band featuring Meloney Collins

Side Street Strutters Jazz Band
Sunday, April 7, 2013 - 3:00 pm

“Shiny Stockings”

Featuring: Meloney Collins

There was a lyrical magic in the jazz melodies of the 1940's.  Hits such as Pennsylvania 6-5000, Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho, and Caledonia were being played at the Cotton Club, the Palladium and Savoy Ballroom.   Benny Goodman found himself hailed as the “King of Swing” and others around him like The Count, Lady Day, The Prez, and Duke were creating a style of music with its own unmistakable, infectious sound and beat-swing!

The Side Street Strutters are proud to present "Shiny Stockings," a new musical experience showcasing the vocal stylings of Meloney Collins.  This charming and talented southern California native joins the Strutters, who borrow from their extensive repertoire of beautifully crafted arrangements, colorful costumes, tap dancing, and 26 years of showmanship and musicianship to create a performance which breathes new life into melodies popularized by the great songstresses of the golden age of jazz.  Feel the searing rhythms of "Sing, Sing Sing" and "Caravan", savor the lush harmonies of "Stardust" and "At Last", and reminisce to "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "A Tisket A Tasket."  Collin's diverse career includes singing with Burt Bacharach, John Tesh, and Julie Andrews, stage productions for the Walt Disney Company, and appearing in the musical presentation of Ray Charles, LIVE!  The Strutters offer their award winning musical arrangements, personable humor and showmanship, while Ms. Collins shares her sassy yet sultry personality, radiant stage presence, and soulful voice.  Together, they create a musical theater experience of timeless melodies which have established themselves as a permanent part of the American cultural landscape.  As Duke once wrote; “It Don’t Mean A Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing.”