Local Performers Have a Bevy of Venues to Get Their Voices Heard

By Guest Blogger, Michelle DiMarino

Students and faculty from The Studio at The Music School of Delaware
perform last year at World Cafe Live at the Queen

Open Mic Nights are popping up throughout New Castle County, giving local musicians, bands, and poets opportunities to show off their original material. Check them out!

"Q's Day" Open Mic Night at Gallucio's – Shawn Qaissaunee hosts the open mic every Tuesday from 8:00-11:00pm and brings along his own band of stellar musicians. Singers with serious pipes but limited instrumental chops get a hand from Shawn and his band. The bass player and drummer may accompany performers who are playing their own instruments for a fuller sound. Gallucio's cozy space lends itself to musical spontaneity. Jazz jams breakout at a moment's notice! Sign-ups begin at 7:30pm, but get there early...spots fill up quickly.
Gallucio's | 1709 Lovering Avenue, Wilmington

Open Mic Night at Argilla Brewing Co. @ Pietro's Pizza – On Sundays from 7:00pm-midnight, Argilla Brewing Co. welcomes local musicians to the smallest brewery in Delaware. They have all the equipment you need – drum kit, guitars, amps and most importantly, a cup holder for your liquid courage on the microphone stand. The low-key atmosphere is perfect to debut a cover of your favorite James Taylor song or an original tune. Small batch craft beer, Ole Smokey Moonshine cocktails and fried pickles will complete your debut evening!

Argilla Brewing Co. @ Pietro's Pizza | 2667 Kirkwood Highway, Newark
Open Mic Night @ The Music School of Delaware – Beginning Thursday, October 8 at 7:00pm, The Music School of Delaware opens its acoustically stellar concert hall to all genres of local musicians and spoken word poets in its first-ever Open Mic Night. The hall has all the features and perks of the big stage – pro-quality lighting rigs, monitors, amps and a seven-foot Steinway grand piano. All participants will also receive a free recording of their performance. Open Mics will be held bi-monthly. Sign-ups begin at 6:30pm.

The Music School of Delaware | 4101 N. Washington Street, Wilmington

WDL's "Memphis" Hits a Powerful Note

By Guest Blogger, Scott Frelick
Scott is a native of Wilmington and has been involved with Wilmington Drama League, The Brandywiners and OperaDelaware. Currently, he is a member of of City Theater Company's Board of Directors. He is also an interior designer, visual artist and Realtor.

Tiffany Dawn Christopher as Felicia Farrell.
Photo courtesy of Kristin Romero Photography.

Memphis the Musical was another outstanding production from The Wilmington Drama League, showcasing the organization's huge step forward in professionalism.

This is a poignant story about the birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the breaking of racial barriers to bring a new form of music to the masses.  The theme, though historical, also seemed to touch today's issues of race and intolerance, and marriage equality.

Today, few give a second thought to interracial couples; in the time period of this show (the 1950s) however, Huey Calhoun and Felicia Farrell were almost killed because of their love. The people who were moved by the music just saw love; but in the end, society's prejudices kept this couple apart.  This show proves that music (much like love) is a universal force that knows no boundaries and can connect people by the movement of their souls.  The wonderful messages that resonate in this story are breaking barriers and pursuing dreams no matter the odds.

This show was thoughtfully directed by Dominic Santos, who brought the audience to laughter, tears and joyful exuberance through music. I challenge you not to dance in your seat. The soulful voice of Anthony Vitalo as Huey Calhoun created the breakdown of vocal stereotypes needed to connect these two groups of people. 

Tommy Fisher-Klein as Gator.
Photo courtesy of Kristin Romero Photography.

However, this show belongs to Tiffany Dawn Christopher as Felicia Farrell.  She lit up and owned the stage just like the rising star she portrayed.  Memphis was beautifully supported with the great talents of Daniel Urdaneta, Darryl Thompson, Kathy Buterbaugh -- and an attention-grabbing, standout performance by Tommy Fisher-Klein as Gator. This talented ensemble of singers, dancers, musicians, costumers, set designers and crew helped to make this a truly memorable show.

My only disappointment was that the sound system experienced issues that were annoying and interfered with the show. It was truly a shame to have such glaring technical problems affect the performances of these talented actors and singers.

As a Wilmingtonian who performed on that stage many years ago, I am proud of this production and all who were involved. Memphis the Musical is a must-see for many reasons -- it was certainly “Music of My Soul." The show runs for one more weekend, through September 27. 

See www.WilmingtonDramaLeague.org 

Mélomanie Opens with Two World Premieres & One Breathtaking "Stage"

By Guest Blogger, Christine Facciolo
Christine holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music and continues to apply her voice to all genres of music. An arts lover since childhood, she currently works as a freelance writer.

Mélomanie opened its 2015-2016 season at The Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts on Sunday, September 13, with a celebration of the artistry of flutist Kimberly Reighley. The concert was held in the DCCA's Carol Bieber and Marc Ham Gallery, where the musicians performed directly underneath artist Amie Potsic's beautifully flowing piece, Endangered Seasons.

Reighley — co-artistic director (along with Tracy Richardson) of the ensemble known for its provocative pairings of baroque and contemporary music — was this year’s recipient of the coveted Masters Award for Solo Recital from the Delaware Division of the Arts. The award required her to perform a solo concert.

I once asked a flutist friend if the instrument was tough to play. She responded by saying it was easy to learn but hard to master. Anyone who hears Reighley’s incredibly beautiful playing will soon realize that she is a complete master of the flute.

The program featured various flutes — the piccolo, baroque, modern and alto —demonstrating the range of expression the instrument possesses and the skill Reighley brings to each.

The program was a mostly contemporary one, including the World Premieres of two works composed especially for the occasion: Two Moods by Chuck Holdeman and The Four Gifts of God by the Brazilian composer Sergio Roberto de Oliveira.

Holdeman is one of an increasing number of composers writing for solo piccolo. As its name suggests, Two Moods explores the acoustic possibilities of the instrument. The first employs the “whistle” tones demonstrating how an almost inaudible instrument can still make music. The second returns the instrument to its familiar sprightly self.

Reighley handled this often unpredictable little instrument with precision and grace. Especially impressive were her high notes, which can be difficult for the average flutist to sustain given the need for greater wind speed.

The Four Gifts of God paired Reighley on baroque flute with Richardson on harpsichord. Composer de Oliveira got the idea to identify four elements: common to all religions. He came up with the gifts of Breath, Light, Creation and Action. Reighley mined the instrument’s capacity for otherworldly tones in the primal character of the first section, quickly switching gears for the brighter musical ideas of Light and Action. Of special interest was the Creation movement, where the composer paid tribute to seven of his favorite composers, including Richardson’s husband, composer Mark Hagerty.

Speaking of Hagerty, his contribution to the program was a work titled Sea Level. Written especially for Reighley, the piece offers a soundscape of the burgeoning plant and animal life in and around the canals of the Dutch countryside during an unusually warm April. This work showcased Reighley’s mastery of the alto flute whose mysterious, picturesque tones ably conveyed the score’s changing colors and textures.

Reighley took up the standard concert flute accompanied by Richardson on harpsichord for Jennifer Margaret Barker’s Dumgoyne and Ingrid Arauco’s Florescence. Both demand the soloist to delineate the sharply contrasting musical ideas. Dumgoyne describes Barker’s childhood memories of the sights and sounds of her native Scotland’s most famous hill. Reighley’s playing effectively conveyed the experience of a climb culminating with the calm and peace of a lyrical Scottish song.

Arauco’s work is more abstract than Dumgoyne but nevertheless requires the flutist to engage some pretty aggressive rhythmic patterns as in the second movement which the composer describes as flowing in “an energetic stream of steady sixteenths punctuated by occasionally by assertive, rhythmically jagged figures.”

It wouldn’t be a Mélomanie concert without a Baroque offering, and Reighley and Richardson paired to offer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier’s Sonata II in G Minor.

The concert concluded with an encore performance by Richardson and Reighley of Hagerty’s Contexts, a short piece that looks at what can happen to a simple repeating motif when the harmony and other musical elements change around it.

The full ensemble returns to the DCCA for their next performance on October 18, where they will premiere a piece by guitarist and composer, Kevin J. Cope.

See www.melomanie.org.