Wilmington Children's Chorus Goes Abroad!

The "Singing Ambassadors of Wilmington" have gone international, embarking on a 10-day musical and cultural tour of Europe!  Twenty-eight members of the 100+ ensemble will travel to Wilmington's Sister Cities of Fulda, Germany and Nemours, France for a performance, partnership and education-filled journey.  Click on the link in the headline above for a diary and photos from their trip, courtesy of the choristers themselves!

Delaware Arts Info wishes them all a wonderfully musical time abroad!  ENJOY!!!

Barefoot in Bellevue Park

July 21 was horribly horribly hot, but the First State Symphonic Band was cheerfully rehearsing in the giant band shell of Bellevue State Park as I arrived. Conductor Jonathan Wittman had a huge rag on a music stand in front of him so he could wipe his brow between numbers, but the band played on.

Most of the repertoire consisted of familiar marches, but an interesting experiment was the Alfred Reed Armenian Dances, a complex medley of tunes reminiscent of a Turkish bazaar. You could hear snake charmer themes and all sorts of exotic melodies as the band toured through the exotic five/eight rhythms.

Another fun surprise was a band piece by Joe Eigenbrot, a Bethlehem PA native and saxophonist in the band. His piece showed the Polish and German heritage reflected in the peoples and spirit of his native area.

Kids danced in front of the band, staff put on a bubble machine, dogs barked, and people ate dinner, wandered and enjoyed the informal atmosphere of a park concert.

Come to the next concerts, every Thursday and Sunday evening at 6:30 until August 28. Or if you prefer lunchtime concerts, they have one every other Wednesday through September 14 from noon to 1. (Don’t worry, there are lots of trees to shade you!)

The concerts are free, but there is a park charge of $3.00 if you do not have a State Park Sticker for your car.

See www.firststatesymphonicband.com

See www.destateparks.com/park/bellevue/

DelShakes Returns

Outdoors under the rustling tress behind Rockwood Mansion, not even the occasional far-off train whistle will break you from the feeling of being transported to another time. More than almost anything, watching live Shakespeare done well, as it's done at the Delaware Shakespeare Festival, will do that.

The play on this night was A Winter's Tale, one of Shakespeare's  lesser-known and late-career plays -- and what a ride it is. Jealousy and devotion, birth and death, love and redemption -- these themes will always remain fresh. As Leontes, the King of Sicilia who becomes overwhelmingly convinced that his wife, Hermione,  is having an affair, Erik Mathew gives an emotional performance. Janice Rowland's Hermione is full of grace. Adam Altman and Molly Cahill Govern stand out as the devoted advisor and gentlewoman to the King and Queen, respectively.

Erik Mathew as Leontes, Janice Rowland as Hermione and Rueben Mitchell as Polixenes.

 The second act, taking place 16 years after the first, is lighter, more humorous and more romantic than the first. Jake Blouch's Autolycus a singing rogue and small-time criminal, is a show stealer, as is David Strattan White as the shepherd's son, the play's clown character. We meet the grown daughter (Isa St. Clair) of Leontes and Hermione, who has fallen in love with the son of the king her mother was accused of being unfaithful with, Florizel (Sean Bradley). His father, played more comically in the second act by Rueben Mitchell, forbids them to marry. Love will prevail -- or so we hope, as we're reminded that the doomed Hermione and Leontes were once deeply in love, too.

The solid DelShakes cast, including a handful of college apprentices, did a great job of entertaining and making Shakespeare accessible. One thing I do know: If it's poorly acted, a modern audience will have a hard time following it. I had never seen or read A Winter's Tale before, and the actors delivered the prose impeccably -- I wasn't lost at any time during the performance.

A Winter's Tale Runs through July 30.