Nadjah Nicole Brings Down the House at "The Voice'"

Photo: NBC

Huge congratulations to another Delawarean making her voice heard in the entertainment industry!

Singer Nadjah Nicole (aka Nadjah Nicole Pennington) wowed the celebrity judges of NBC's "The Voice" during her appearance last week, where she sang Janelle Monáe's song,Tightrope. The 23-year-old Claymont resident has regularly performed around the First State, in Gable Music Venture events like Ladybug Music Festival and World Cafe Live at the Queen singer-songwriter showcases.

She returns home this weekend to celebrate her slam-dunk performance. Nicole is headlining at the World Cafe Live at the Queen's downstairs stage on Friday, October 2 in a show by Gable Music Ventures. She'll be backed by her four-piece band and a pair of back-up singers. Tickets for that show are available HERE.

• Check out a recent interview with Nadjah Nicole by Dominick 'King Dom' Draper in 55 Hours last weekend. 
• Read Ryan Cormier's News Journal coverage of her appearance on "The Voice" here.
• See her knock-out performance on "The Voice" HERE!

Maurice Hines Is Tappin’ Thru Life with an Energetic Stop at DTC

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.

Vegas met vaudeville Saturday night when the Delaware Theatre Company opened its 37th season with Maurice Hines Is Tappin’ Thru Life.

Hines, the older brother of the late great tap meister, Gregory Hines, is a consummate artist in his own right: a Tony Award nominee as well as celebrated singer, dancer, choreographer and director who has graced stages both here and abroad.

Hines is one entertainer who knows how to work a room. His smile and energy are infectious and he clearly has a respect and admiration for his fans that has — sadly — become a rare commodity in today’s world of entertainment.

He kicked the evening off with effusive praise for Wilmington, its people and the DTC, both in word and song with I’ve Never Been in Love Before. You got the impression that there was nowhere in the world he’d rather be than right here and the sold-out crowd loved it.

But Hines doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk, sometimes literally. He talked about how he ate at Harry’s Seafood Grill on the Riverfront with Bud Martin, DTC’s executive director. Reports of “Hines sightings” abound as he hoofs about town.

Hines talks and sings about his childhood, his relationship with his brother, the influence his parents had on his career and life, all the while getting superb backing from the nine-member Diva Jazz Orchestra, a distaff powerhouse ensemble.

Tappin’ Thru Life is much more than a chronological recounting of a life’s events. It is, as Hines points out, a love letter to his mother who, unlike his skeptical father, never doubted that her talented toddlers were destined for the world stage. “My father was just along for the ride,” he quipped.

We see photos of the lovely Alma Hines in her wedding gown and decked out in a stylish fur on the porch with his father. “Isn’t she beautiful?” Hines asked the audience as he gazed lovingly at the faded black-and-white images.

Hines also gets misty-eyed when talking about his brother. He regrets the argument they once had that caused them to be estranged for 10 years. But once they reconciled, they were inseparable until Gregory’s passing in 2003 at age 57. “I miss my brother,” he said before singing My Buddy.

Hines’ personal history is interspersed with social comments regarding integration and segregation. He tells of the time he and his brother received an invitation from Tallulah Bankhead to visit her whites-only hotel in Las Vegas. (She threatened to boycott her own show if management objected.) The brothers swam in the pool then had to watch as the proprietors drained the water after they exited. Hines punctuated the story with a heartfelt rendition of Nat “King” Cole’s signature song Smile.

There were magical moments as well. Like the time he met Frank Sinatra, the reigning king of Las Vegas, in Sammy Davis Jr.’s dressing room. And if that wasn’t enough excitement, Dean Martin, the indisputable “king of cool” himself, appeared at the door. “Jay-Z and P. Diddy think they’re cool baby, but Dean Martin was the coolest man I’d ever seen,” he said.

Much of the dialogue and comments between the band and the audience is ad-libbed, making for a comfortable interaction in the intimate venue.

Hines shares the stage with the Manzari Brothers, photogenic siblings who appeared with him in “Sophisticated Ladies.” Their relentlessly high-voltage performance provided the perfect complement to Hines’ cool and relaxed elegance.

The audience erupted when nine-year-old Jake Sweeny, who studies tap at the Delaware Arts Conservatory, joined the Manzaris in a fast and furious battle of the taps.

The band is big, bold and brassy. Horns blare and pianist Jackie Warren shows her instrument no mercy as she pounds away at the keys. Music Director Sherrie Maricle delivered a jaw-dropping drum solo during a performance of Duke Ellington’s Caravan.

Played and sung numbers included big-band favorites like It Don’t Mean a Thing, to Broadway’s I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face, and Luck Be a Lady, to the rock era’s Love the One You’re With.

Hines closed the show with a love song to the audience, Too Marvelous for Words, and after five standing ovations, the audience obviously felt the same about him.

See www.DelawareTheatre.org. 

Celebrate Wilmo's Creative District at the 7th Street Arts Bridge Kick-Off

Information taken from press release courtesy of Wilmington Renaissance Corporation...

Creative District Wilmington is excited to host 7th Street Arts Bridge Kick-Off on Friday, October 2 from 5:30-8:00pm at the new Inspire Lot located at 215-219 W. 7th Street between Orange and Tatnall Streets.

Music by Jea Street and JaE, hip-hop performance by Street Xpressions, food trucks, hands-on art projects and more! Be sure to add this to your schedule while enjoying the first Friday Art on the Town Art Loop! There is no admission cost for the 7th Street Arts Bridge Kick-Off. Performances run from 6:00-8:00pm. In case of inclement weather, a decision will be made by Noon on October 2. Music provided by Gable Music Ventures.

Live Performances
6:00-6:45pm - Jea Street
6:45-7:15pm - Street Xpressions (hip-hop dancers)
7:15-8:00pm - JaE

Sponsored in part by Christina Cultural Arts Center, Cityfest, City of Wilmington, Colonial Parking, Downtown Visions, Gable Music Ventures, Smashed Label, Street Xpressions Arts Organization, Inc., and Wilmington Renaissance Corporation.

Wilmington's Creative District is a part of a national wave of creative placemaking initiatives that seek to transform urban areas. This revitalization project encompasses the area bounded by 4th, 9th, Market and Washington streets. It's driven by collaborative partners: Chris White Community Development Corporation, Christina Cultural Arts Center, City of Wilmington, Interfaith Community Housing of Delaware, Quaker Hill Neighborhood Association and Wilmington Renaissance Corporation. The Creative District is generously supported by Bank of America, Delaware Division of the Arts, Delaware State Housing Authority, Delmarva Power, JPMorgan Chase, Longwood Foundation, TD Bank Foundation and United Way of Delaware.

The Creative District is focused on creative production and consumption, a place where creative entrepreneurs - artists, musicians, designers, tech innovators, makers and manufacturers - and neighborhood residents thrive and where locally designed goods and original works are made and consumed. This revitalization will engage the community - current and future residents, as well as civic and business leaders - In a wide range of initiatives and programs that include; affordable housing, greening and streetscape projects, real estate development, programming and community engagement activities, public art and public performance projects, and centers for creative entrepreneurship.

See CreativeDistrictWilm.com.

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.

A Masterful Performance of 9/11 Remembrance from DSO & Mastersingers of Wilmington

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.

Mozart’s Requiem took on an added poignancy as the Delaware Symphony Orchestra opened its 2015-16 season — the “Season of the Bells” — with a tribute to the September 11th terrorist attacks.

The deeply human drama of the Requiem was a perfect choice for the concert, titled Remembrance and Redemption.

Musicologists often argue about what the work might have sounded like had Mozart lived to complete it, demonstrating what his pupil Franz Xaver Sussmayr did to make the work performable.

DSO Music Director David Amado took a different tack. In his pre-concert lecture, he maintained that whatever the weaknesses and differences in Sussmayr’s work, he did at least know Mozart and his version has endured for more than two centuries.

Whether by sheer artistry or the suggestive power of the occasion — I like to think a bit of both — the musicians and singers seemed at their best in the intimate sections of the Requiem.

The soloists soprano Brenda Harris (who traveled last-minute from Connecticut to fill in for the ailing Mary Wilson), mezzo-soprano Meg Bragle, tenor Brian Downen and baritone Grant Youngblood drew the pathos and solace from the Recordare and the Tuba mirum, the latter graced by a lyrical trombone solo.

The Mastersingers of Wilmington sang with force and assurance, executing complex vocal lines with ease and applying judicious phrasing.

This concert was the first in the five-concert Classics series to feature the Bells of Remembrance, Brother David Schlatter’s poignant memorial to those who lost their lives at Ground Zero including his friend, mentor and fellow Franciscan Father Mychal Judge, the first to die in the terrorist attacks. Amado chose Cesar Franck’s symphonic poem, “Le Chasseur maudit” (The Accursed Hunter) for the bells’ season debut, quipping that he was giving the rarely performed work its Delaware premiere just as he gave it its St. Louis premiere during his tenure with that city’s orchestra. Based on the poem “Der wilde Jager” by Gottfried Burger, the story is a classic tale of disobedience and damnation: a miscreant count chooses hunting over church one Sunday and is condemned to be chased by demons for all eternity.

The horns were resplendent; the call to the hunt in the opening bars was arresting. The alternation between solemn hymns and frantic hunt was powerfully executed. The orchestra’s principal players, especially the winds, provided subtly colored solos. The tolling of the church bells — this time with real bells — was a dramatic and somewhat sinister harbinger of what was to come.

But it was the waves of sound from each section of the orchestra that drove the action, culminating in a massive G minor thwack from the deity.

The concert opened with George Tsontakis’ Laconika (2010), with the composer in attendance. The title is a pun on the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s name (LACO) as well as a nod to the native New Yorker’s Greek heritage, as he explained.

The title also represents the composer’s intent on writing something laconic or Spartan rather than the larger movements he typically favors. As a result, the 15-minute score divides into five, short pop-song sized pieces: Alarming, Lacomotion, Mercurial, Laconicrimosa and Twilight.

This is hardly groundbreaking music — the ear catches more than a few clichés — but Tsontakis somehow manages to keep it sounding fresh and authentic, and the DSO obliges. Apropos this concert, Laconicrimosa, which was written when the composer’s mother was ill, makes reference to the Lacrimosa of Mozart’s Requiem.

The tone for the evening was set with a solemn arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner by Otto Werner Mueller, professor of conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and Amado’s teacher.

See www.delawaresymphony.org and www.marketstreetmusicde.org. 

Get Engaged This Fall: 2015 Delaware Arts Summit

post content courtesy of DDOA September eNews...

2015 Delaware Arts Summit Registration Opens
Get ready to "Get Engaged" with the arts at the 2015 Delaware Arts Summit on Monday, October 26 at Dover Downs. Detailed information on schedule, speakers and online registration is available at www.artsdel.org/summit. The early-bird deadline is October 1.

Meet Keynote Speaker, Lily Yeh
"I never dreamed that I could change things. Even now, it's not on my agenda to make people's lives better, to revolutionize the system. I don't see myself as a social activist. I am an artist. What I am about is sharing that sense of joy when I am creating with many people, with whoever wants to be a part of that process..." - Lily YehUsing her projects from the inner city of Philadelphia to the genocide-ravaged countryside of Rwanda, Lily Yeh will show the process of transformation on the individual and collective level through the communal act of creating beauty and launching innovative social programs.

See www.artsdel.org/summit.

Meet Marty Lassman & the Music School's New Jazz Choirs

The Music School of Delaware Jazz Choir Director, Marty Lassman

This fall, The Music School of Delaware’s faculty member Marty Lassman leads new jazz choirs for both teens and adults. We caught up with him for a sneak peek at what students can expect. For more information on jazz choirs or other classes and lessons at The Music School of Delaware, call 302.762.1132.

Can you tell us the differences between leading a jazz choir versus a traditional choir? Are there different techniques for singers to learn?

Firstly, thanks for these questions! I should realize that what seems obvious to me is sometimes not as intuitive for non-jazzers. Leading a jazz choir has many similarities to leading a traditional choir, except that in the performance, the focus is on the singers not the director/conductor. The ‘European-based’ method of choirs that we have inherited in our country focuses on how the conductor will interpret the written score.

However, the U.S. model is built upon the concept of independence and freedom, so jazz allows the singer/performer to interpret the music based upon their own experiences and level of expertise with the genre. The novice can sing simple riffs and show off the beauty of their voice. The more experienced jazzer can also use scales, licks and sequences to take the listener into unexpected and delightful aural places.

As for the singing techniques, there are differing opinions. But I agree with Dr. Paul Rardin (who now directs choirs at Temple) who is knowledgeable in both traditional and jazz music. He teaches that tone production is the same for both styles with two exceptions. We sing jazz with the soft pallet dropped (unlike classical music) and with vibrato only used in solos and only for a deliberate effect. There are techniques that we all know from pop music – which originated in jazz – that we use, but basic tone production remains the same. Some directors prefer a brighter vocal tone but I do not. I prefer a traditional non-vibrato choir sound so we can sing in tune on ensemble sections.

Can you give us examples of music you plan to include in the choirs' repertoires?

I am waiting to see what our voicing will be before choosing repertoire – we can adapt to anything – but I intend to include newly composed as well as standard pieces. Members can expect to sing in swing style, Latin (e.g., Bossa Nova) and funk. No one needs prior experience. The complexity of the music will be based upon the level of musicianship we have in the ensembles. We may also sing a few standards in unison, which will provide more opportunities for improvisation.

What are the main things that students should know when preparing to audition for the jazz choirs?

I’ll be listening for the ability to sing in tune and rhythmically. Our unisons must be true unisons. I’m also listening for beautiful tone production. I’m not going to be upset if someone sings wrong notes or words, as long as those notes are in tune and on time. I’m not asking for improvisation as a requirement. Most non-jazzers are terrified to improvise. It is not simply ‘singing what you want.’ There are flexible rules and learnable techniques. I will teach easy ways to get started, so that each singer’s confidence and abilities will grow.

How does the audition process work?

I tried to find the most non-threatening way to audition singers. The singer gets to practice as much as they wish and create their audition ‘tape’ as often as they wish until they are satisfied. There are several specific song selections I’d like singers to use, and all can be found on YouTube. (A list of the songs can be found on the Music School’s Facebook Event for Auditions. Singers can find sheet music for the songs online and can also find recordings, including ones on YouTube, of the songs.

Then, set your recording device – a smartphone, tablet, computer or actual recording machine like Zoom – where it can hear (and optionally, see) you sing while we also hear the YouTube clip. (The clips I chose have the words on the screen to make it even easier!) It really is fun! Then just email the recording of your singing (with the YouTube clip in the background) to the Music School. 

What are your goals for the two choir groups?

I want both groups to have fun and look forward to Wednesday night as their favorite night of the week! Both groups will perform similar literature, but the adult group will be able to learn techniques and become comfortable with literature that can be used in school choirs (or similar) at any skill level. In addition, I am unaware of any community jazz choirs that exist in the state (or tri-state area) for teenagers or adults, so this will be a unique opportunity to have fun while singing music that is suitable not just for concerts but also for ‘events.’

What are some of your favorite works for jazz choir?

More than favorite works, I have favorite arrangers. I am fond of Paris Rutherford’s arrangement of Autumn Leaves because it is challenging, is a great teaching piece and sounds even harder than it is. I also enjoy working on any arrangement written by/for the New York Voices but those are intended for advanced choirs. I also like Rosana Eckert’s arrangement of Sandu because the composer, Clifford Brown, lived in Wilmington and is buried in a cemetery across the street from Cab Calloway School of the Arts. Local roots!

What is your best advice for young or "emerging" singers to improve their craft? 

Learn classical music. The foundations for every genre of the Arts – music dance, visual art, etc. – are all based on fundamental techniques taught by performing, recreating or studying the works of the masters. Additionally, all the fundamentals of music – pitch, rhythm, tone, technique, etc. – are learned through traditional choir work. However, musicians living in our contemporary world also benefit from being versatile enough to do perform any style of music, including jazz and pop.

Martin (Marty) Lassman received his Bachelor of Music Education with a trumpet concentration from the University of Delaware and his Masters of Education with a piano concentration from the University of Iowa. His faculty instruction resume includes work with H.B. DuPont Middle School, Talley Jr. High School, Wilmington Friends School and Cab Calloway School of the Arts. His teaching experience includes band, general music, jazz band, vocal music and jazz choir at Cab Calloway. He is the Past President and Treasurer of the American Choral Directors Association and served on the Jr. High All-State Chorus Committee for violin.

Wowing Us on Wednesdays in Wilmo

By Guest Blogger, Ken Grant
Ken Grant has worked in Delaware media, politics and marketing for 25 years. He and his Lovely Bride enjoy Wilmington's arts and culture scene as much as they can.

Wilmo Wednesdays host Melissa Bernard

Here’s a solid Wilmo recipe: Start with a cool venue. Add one comedian and a variety of talented musicians in different styles, mix in an energetic crowd. When done correctly, this concoction yields one great evening of entertainment.

On August 5, Gable Music Ventures cooked up this eclectic blend of talent as part of Wilmo Wednesday at World Café Live at the Queen. Melissa Bernard does an excellent job of entertaining while the acts set up and tear down, making connections with the audience and keeping the evening on track.

Unskilled Labor

NOTE: This is not an open mic night — the evening is a curated showcase of talent from all over the mid-Atlantic  region.  Davey Dickens, Jr., sounds like a cross between Steve Earl and John Prine — an interesting blend of hard-edge country with laid-back folk.  Nave, on the other hand, brought a sophisticated hip-hop performance to the stage.  Gable's own Jeremy Hebbel went beyond his musical talent and shared a part of his soul with the audience.

Then there’s the talent of youth — from Unskilled Labor, consisting of high school students from Delaware All-State Band playing a fusion-rock sound 

Danielle Cuoco

that had many in the audience in awe, to Danielle Cuoco, a 15-year-old who seems ready to take on the music world with gusto — we saw a glimpse of what the future of music can look like, and it is good. Wilmo Wednesday is a place for musicians to connect with audiences in a casual, intimate setting and for audiences to enjoy a variety of talent, from the genres they already enjoy to some they are learning to appreciate.

See www.gablemusicventures.com.

Art POPS in Downtown Wilmo

A rendering of the pop-up gallery to be created in HB DuPont Plaza.

In keeping with this summer's "In the Plaza" arts- and entertainment-related happenings, Downtown Visions is sponsoring a free-standing art gallery and juried exhibition on Thursday, August 6, 4:30-7:30pm in HB DuPont Plaza (corner of Delaware Avenue and Washington Street) in downtown Wilmington.

By constructing a professional art venue in the park, The Shaft Space -- an artistic and curatorial collaboration between regional artists Maiza Hixson and Lauren Ruth -- seeks to generate civic dialogue, community and corporate engagement in the arts. Artists from all backgrounds were invited to submit up to three works for consideration.

As a result, approximately 40 Wilmington artists will display their work in the pop-up gallery at the Plaza. Artists' names to be announced soon.

If you have questions, email theshaftspace@gmail.com or contact Maiza Hixson at 302.415.4674.

Longwood & Brandywiners Team Up for a Fine "Fiddler"

By Guest Blogger, Julia Mason
Julia has been working in the marketing world for over seven years and has a deep passion for Wilmington, Delaware. When she is not working on revitalization efforts and exciting projects for Wilmington with The Buccini/Pollin Group, she enjoys working on her personal project, Positivelyglamorous.com.

Brandywiners' cast of Fiddler On the Roof

The charming and thought-provoking Fiddler on the Roof is now on performance at the magical Longwood Gardens Open Air Theatre.  The talented Brandywiners are putting on the production, and like the Longwood Gardens have a unique history.

The group began in 1932 with the goal to bring joy into people’s lives during the Great Depression. Chick Laird, co-founder of the group, just so happened to also be the favorite nephew of Pierre S. du Pont, owner of Longwood Gardens and the Open Air Theatre, The Brandywiners have been performing there ever since!

Fiddler on the Roof is The Brandywiners 84^th annual performance and all of that experience strongly shows through the play. The jubilant Marissa Broujos’ energy as The Fiddler can be felt strongly throughout the entire show, and her dancing was perfectly on point. William Fellner, as Teyve was impeccable at bringing out the character’s wit. Susan Brown captivated the audience with her motherly yet quick-witted personality. The real head turner was Tricia Beichner, who perfectly carried out the role as old Grandma Tzeital and was both mystifying and terrifying all at the same time!

The entire cast and orchestra did an excellent job and if you haven’t been to The Open Air Theatre to see The Brandywiners, or you haven’t seen Fiddler on the Roof, I would highly recommend attending. The play is just as wonderful as the setting and by being outdoors it somehow brings you that much more entrenched with the performance. The star-filled night sky and fireflies dancing above your heads make it all very enchanting.

P.S. The ending of play is not the end of the show, there is a dazzling fountain display, but I won’t spoil the surprise! You have to go see The Brandywiners yourself!

See www.brandywiners.org.

A Delightfully ‘Shrew-d’ Lesson Under the Stars

By Guest Blogger, Carol Van Zoeren
Carol is a 40+ year veteran of community theater and retired from DuPont.

DelShakes Opening Night in Rockwood Park

Full disclosure – I am a DelShakes groupie. I’ve attended every year since they started, and love everything about it: The Shakespeare factoids to read and pause as you trudge up the hill, the community picnicking, the beautiful setting. It just isn’t summer in Wilmington for me without them.

And the shows! Always good, and this year’s Taming of the Shrew is most delightfully one of the best I’ve seen. Director Samatha Bellomo and the cast expertly tackle the challenges of in-the-round staging, which draws the audience in so we feel we’re part of the action. The vibrant costumes by Kayla Speedy keep it visually interesting while helping guide us through the multiple disguises. And the outsized physical antics and perfect delivery of the Bard’s baudiest lines produce hearty belly laughs.

At its core, however, Shrew is a difficult play for modern audiences to square with gender equality. Both Producing Artistic Director David Stradley and Director Bellomo made this point in their program notes. The company’s struggle with threading that needle has really paid off, and I now see the play in an entirely new light.

Most of this challenge falls on the central pair Petruchio (Charlie DelMarcelle) and Katharina (Felicia Leicht), and they succeed.  Their first meeting crackles with breathless attraction, which launches a lovely trajectory for each character. DelMarcelle’s Petruchio is more caring and less cocky. Leicht conveys a delicate vulnerability, even longing, behind her brash exterior. From this grows genuine affection, mutual respect and desire for the others’ happiness. In this context, Katharina’s final monologue is not submission to a conqueror. It is liberation from self-imposed exile. Yeah, I admit I got a little weepy.

The relationships between masters and servants echo this genuine affection. Lucentio (Kevin Hoffmann) trusts his servant Tranio (Ife Foy) with his name and his love life. Petruchio’s poor put-upon servant Grumio (James Kern) always comes through in a pinch. In contrast, the Katharina’s sister Bianca (Tabitha Allen) proves to be disdainful under her “perfect” exterior, especially in a very funny Act 1 scene with her sister and father (Michael Gamache).

It’s a thrill to learn something new about a familiar play. It’s even better learn something new about oneself. DelShakes delivers on both, and proves once again that Shakespeare always has something to teach us. Plus, it’s just really, really fun!

See www.delshakes.org.  

A Ladybug Preview & Album Review

By Guest Blogger, Ken Grant
Ken Grant has worked in Delaware media, politics and marketing for 25 years. He and his Lovely Bride enjoy Wilmington's arts and culture scene as much as they can.

Photo courtesy of Nalani & Sarina.

At first listen, Nalani & Sarina’s new EP, Scattered World sounds like a well-blended mix of pop and soul with just the right amount of funk and rap added for extra flavor.

But listen closely and you can hear the influences the identical twins grew up with –stellar lyricists like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, as well as the classical music training they received in childhood.

Like many sibling musicians, Nalani & Sarina Bolton not only blend voices perfectly, but seem to match each other’s energy and style in every track – from the opening anthem “We’ll Be Free” (which promises to be a great number for live performances) to the haunting “Shadows in the shade.”

Themes running through the tracks of Scattered World cover things as difficult as teen runaways and adolescent confusion without family or community support, to a celebration of love and freedom.

Whether you appreciate 60s soul, 70s funk, 80s dance, 90s hip-hop, or modern pop, Nalani & Sarina have something for you musically to enjoy while engaging your mind with thoughtful, well-placed lyrics.

Nalani & Sarina will be playing the Ladybug Festival in Wilmington on Thursday, July 16. The free event features some of the best performers in the mid-Atlantic region.

Find out more about Nalani & Sarina: http://nalanisarina.com/

Find out more about the Ladybug Music Festival: http://theladybugfestival.com/

Summertime Art Looping in the City

By Guest Blogger, Ken Grant
Ken Grant has worked in Delaware media, politics and marketing for 25 years. He and his Lovely Bride enjoy Wilmington's arts and culture scene as much as they can.

Pablo Picasso said, "The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls."

Wilmington offers that opportunity to "wash the dust off" and appreciate new perspectives every month through the city-wide Art Loop (aka Wilmington's Art on the Town).

July's Art Loop featured more than a dozen exhibitions at places as varied as government buildings, restaurants and community outreach centers. The work displayed is just as eclectic --- from photographs focusing on compartmentalization (Joe Natale at the Grand Opera House, above left) to large murals exploring questions of space, dimension and emotion (Ken Carley at Connections West End, above right).


"Art is not a handicraft," argues Leo Tolstoy, "it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced."

Artist Michael Silva (left) uses acrylic, oil and wood burning to transmit his experiences of beauty at the leasing office of 2nd and LOMA, while Jo Worme (right) experiments with a variety of canvases, including boards, to show her ability to capture the feeling of creativity and action at Film Brothers Movie Co-op.

In addition to interesting and engaging visual arts, venues like the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts and LOMA Coffee featured live music throughout the evening.

President John F. Kennedy said, "If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him."

The arts, business, non-profit and government communities in Wilmington have demonstrated a commitment to provide artists in the area with the platform to share their considerable talent. It's now up to us, as a society, to do our part. You can start by taking a few moments to simply gaze at the work being created; you just might find the dust of daily life being washed off your soul.


The Wilmington Art Loop is normally held the first Friday of each month. 
 
See www.artloopwilmingtonde.com. 

A Fest of Gore, Splatter and Camp with Bootless' Evil Dead, The Musical

By Guest Blogger, Ken Grant
Ken Grant has worked in Delaware media, politics and marketing for 25 years. He and his Lovely Bride enjoy Wilmington's arts and culture scene as much as they can.

Bootless Stageworks production of Evil Dead, The Musical.
Photo by Kent Grant.

You know you're in for a fun theatrical experience when the orchestra is dressed in t-shirts and stage hands have mops at the ready to clear the stage and front row of the splatter and gore sprayed, flung and cascaded over the audience.

And with cheesy grins, knowing winks and truly horrifying puns (as if there's any other kind), the cast and crew of Bootless Stageworks provide that with Evil Dead, The Musical.

From the peppy and poppy opening song "Cabin in the Woods" where our band of happy campers are heading to their Spring Break getaway to the triumphant finale of "Blew That Bitch Away" where our hero is figuratively carried around by customers and fellow employees at the local box superstore, Evil Dead, The Musical entertains and engages the audience.

You need not be familiar with the original 1981 cult classic Evil Dead or the franchise in order to follow and enjoy Evil Dead, The Musical --- but if you're a fan, your heart should jump at some of the iconic poses and lines in this production.

The cast of Evil Dead, The Musical. Photo by Kent Grant.

The plot is your basic "friends go camping, discover book that unleashes evil, fight evil and create much blood and gore in the process" story. For anyone who has seen a trailer for any movie featuring young people, camping and a scream, there is no such thing as a "spoiler" in describing this play --- and the writers capitalize on that from the beginning with lines like, "We're five young people headed to a deserted old cabin in the woods... what could possibly go wrong?"

Ryan PJ Mulholland does a great job of channeling Bruce Campbell as Ash, the hero who knows how to handle just about any weirdness that comes his way. Justin Walsh takes the best friend role of Scott to new levels during in his duet with Mulholland "What the F*** was That?"

The dialog, singing, dancing and splattering is all handled deftly by the talented cast. The special effects put together by John and Roseanne DellAversano are impressive and fun to watch. Music Director James Fuerst increases the energy on stage and adds elements to the show that no pre-recorded music could offer.

Just in case the title, descriptions of gore and song titles haven't conveyed the message yet, this is not a show for children nor for those who find themselves offended by salty language.

Evil Dead, The Musical runs July 17 and 18 at Bootless Stageworks theater located in The Annex @ St. Stevens, 1301 Broom Street in Wilmington. 

See www.bootless.org.

Music & Pet Lovers Unite: Mozart, Debussy & Beach to benefit DHA!

This event gets "four paws up" from DEWEY the ART DOG (who is also a rescue)...

Delaware Humane Association is excited to present an evening for animal lovers and music lovers alike! Violinist Andrew Irvin and pianist Hiroko Yamazaki will perform masterpieces for violin and piano of Mozart, Debussy and American romantic composer Amy Beach. The performance is on Tuesday, July 7, 7:30pm at First & Central Presbyterian Church, 1100 N. Market Street in downtown Wilmington.

A free-will offering will be accepted, and all proceeds will benefit Delaware Humane Association. Click here for the recital program and more information about the musicians.

Wrap-Up: 30 Years of Musical Magic from DCMF

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.

Where has the time gone? The Delaware Chamber Music Festival (DCMF) has just wrapped up its 30th anniversary season.  The DCMF has been called one of the state’s

“best kept secrets.” Personally, I think there are far too many “best kept secrets” on the local arts scene.

DCMF Music Director and Violinist Barbara Govatos promised a program worthy of the milestone, and she did not disappoint with set lists that blended the traditional and the contemporary, old favorites and some genuine surprises. Where else would one see two double bassists over two weekends?

The first concert (Friday, June 12) opened with Rossini’s String Sonata No. 2 in A Major. Bright, breezy and charming — he wrote it when he was 12 — it nevertheless requires precision, subtly graded dynamics and purity of tone — all qualities brought by the festival quartet with deft support from debuting guest double bassist Xavier Foley.

A nice contrast was achieved with a Piano Trio by cellist-composer Gaspar Cassado. It is explicitly and ethnically Spanish from its very first chords. Pianist Marcantonio Barone, cellist Clancy Newman and Govatos are persuasive advocates of this piece that Govatos “discovered” on YouTube, and their playing is first class. The evening ended with a performance of Schubert’s much loved “Trout” Quintet. The ensemble built through the introduction to the opening Allegro with a strong sense of where the music should go, continuing with lively rhythms and balance: Again, Foley is present but never weights the players down.

The second concert (Sunday, June 14) opened on a pensive note with a performance of Heidi Jacob’s Winter Light. Inspired by the Bergman film, “In Winter Light,” this serial work has a mournful somberness about it and a highly expressive — not to mention challenging — string part brilliantly executed by Govatos. Collaborating on piano with Govatos was the composer’s husband, Charles Abramovic.

The mood considerably lightened when Abramovic and Russian pianist Alexandre Moutouzkine sat down at the concert grands to perform Brahms’ joyful “St. Anthony Variations.” Abramovic reminded the audience that the work was originally scored for two pianos and played for the first time by the composer and his close friend Clara Schumann. This was a truly superb performance, capturing all the color one would hear in the orchestrated version. I don’t think Brahms and Schumann could have performed it any better.

They then switched pianos for a performance of Brubeck’s jazz ballet Points on Jazz, a work that had personal significance for both performance. Moutouzkine recalls playing it with his mother, while Abramovic remembers Brubeck from an LP his parents owned. Like fusion cuisine, fusion music isn’t for everyone, but to quote Duke Ellington, "...there are only two kinds of music: good and bad." And this was definitely good and well-played.

The third concert (Friday, June 19) carried the theme “A Little Night Music” and featured the festival debut of double bassist Brent Edmondson, a Newark, Del. native.

One would expect to hear Mozart’s iconic Serenade in G Major, Eine Kleine Nachtmusic —always a pleasure — but not before something a bit more contemporary in the form of George Crumb’s Four Nocturnes (Night Music II) for Violin and Piano. This is truly night music: delicate and serene. The violin is heard in the highest register with wide-ranging intervals from time to time. There are long silences and occasional hints of birdsong. Only in the second Notturno does the music become a bit edgy. Govatos and Barone do the honors of exploiting the various timbres of their respective instruments: plucking, rapping on crossbeams, touching the strings on nodal points or simply depressing the keys.

Schubert explores the music of the night in his mystical Notturno, a single movement for piano trio in which the strings — Govatos and Newman — matched the gentility of Barone’s piano work. Their pizzicato was delicate throughout — not the standard pluck-away — as the musicians found their way through the muscularity of the dotted rhythms and the sonorous and lyrical slow bits.

Many have been fascinated with Boccherini’s La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid with its vivid evocation of bells, beggars, drums and the rosary. Here the quartet with the participation of Edmondson dispatched it with an elegant precision.  Barone provided an interlude of pure piano simplicity with his masterful performances of Faure and Chopin nocturnes.

The festival concluded on Sunday, June 21, with the core quartet taking on a musically and emotionally challenging set. Czech folk rhythms, national fervor, memories of youth and private anguish — the composer is coming to terms with his deafness — unite in the intimacy of Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1, From My Life. From the opening impassioned viola solo executed here by Burchard Tang to the closing pages of the finale which reduxes the dramatic falling fifth of the opening and introduces a whistling high E which signals the tinnitus that plagued the composer later in life, the quartet drills into Smetana’s anguish, creating the shivers it should.

Janacek’s First Quarter (Kreutzer Sonata) draws loosely on themes from Tolstoy’s novella: suspected betrayal, regret and disillusionment. This is music that can turn on a dime from introspection to unbridled exhibition, using small but potent motifs, a dazzling array of rhythms and an equally broad range of coloristic techniques and a chromaticism firmly rooted in the early 20th Century. The playing is positively explosive, concluding a strong season on an equally strong note.

See www.dcmf.org.