Voices of Tabernacle “I Hear America Singing” Honoring New York Composers at EOH

The historic 1892 Earlville Opera House welcomes the Voices of Tabernacle with a program to honor New York’s Path Through History Weekend.  The Voices will present “I Hear America Singing” with selections to honor New York composers for this history-themed weekend!  New York State has been home to some fabulous musical talent over the years and this is a concert to make New Yorkers proud!  The Sunday matinee performance on June 9 at 3pm includes special guests with the Sherburne-Earlville High School Chorus directed by Kylie Davis. 

Rodgers and Hammerstein were one of the most influential, innovative and successful songwriting teams in New York history!

A concert with the theme of celebrating the musical composers of New York is truly a rich experience considering the depth of talent at hand.  One of the most famous composing teams to come out of New York was Rodgers and Hammerstein with Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960). They were one of the “most influential, innovative and successful American musical theatre writing teams, they created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s, initiating what is considered the “golden age” of musical theatre.  Their songwriting partnership is often considered the greatest of the 20th century.” (wiki)

Many of the Rogers and Hammerstein tunes are now a part of our national repertoire!  Here’s a sampling that the Voices will celebrate: I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair, Oklahoma, On Broadway, Edelweiss, I Whistle A Happy Tune, Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’, Shall We Dance?, Some Enchanted Evening, The Sound Of Music, The Surrey With The Fringe On Top, There Is Nothin’ Like A Dame and You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Rodgers as a composer worked with a number of lyricists in his career and the Voices will do a selection from Rodgers work sampling different lyricists in four charming Broadway waltzes:  Do I Hear a Waltz?, Falling in Love with Love, It’s a Grand Night for Singing, and A Wonderful Guy.  The lyrics of Stephen Sondheim (born in New York and mentored by Oscar Hammerstein), Lorenz Hart (born in Harlem and his partnership with Richard Rodgers was also a gold mine of American song) as well as Oscar Hammerstein are represented in this delightful medley.

Another team of New York composers that will be presented in the concert will be Lerner and Loewe, who were “the team of lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe, known primarily for the music and lyrics of some of Broadway’s most successful musical shows, including My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Brigadoon”. (wiki)

Founder and director, Anita Humer will lead the Voices of Tabernacle through selections from Lerner and Loewe’s Broadway musicals including: Get Me To The Church On Time; I Could Have Danced All Night; I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face; On The Street Where You Live; The Rain In Spain; With A Little Bit Of Luck; Wouldn’t It Be Loverly; Camelot; If Ever I Would Leave You and They Call The Wind Maria.

Aaron Copland is another New York composer!

A New York composer, not to be overlooked is Brooklyn-born Aaron Copland, with the selection of Long Time Ago. He taught at Harvard and “earned the Pulitzer Prize in composition for Appalachian Spring. His scores for Of Mice and Men (1939), Our Town (1940), and The North Star (1943) all received Academy Award nominations, while The Heiress won Best Music in 1950.” (wiki)

Don’t miss a fine celebration of the human voice and New York’s talented songwriters on Sunday, June 9^th!  General admission is $12 and $10 for veterans or EOH members and $7 students.  The EOH Theater is wheelchair-accessible with a ramp and a lift.  Don’t forget to visit our three art galleries as well as the Artisan’s Gift Shop and EOH Arts Café!  The café is always open before the performance and during intermission, and serves tasty desserts, refreshing summer drink classics, and hot coffee/tea as well.  For more information, or to reserve your seats, call 315-691-3550 or order online at www.earlvilleoperahouse.com.  The Opera House is located at 16 East Main Street, in Earlville, NY.

TeensART 2013 Best of Show

Elephant by Rajon Enoch of Waterville. Rajon is this year’s TeensART Best of Show winner.

The Earlville Awesome House announces that Rajon Enoch, grade 11 of Waterville Junior/Senior High School is the “Best of Show” winner of the ninth annual TeensART 2013.   Rajon studies with art teacher, Mary Beth Maguire. Eight area schools participated in the show with hundreds of young artists’ work from Hamilton, Cazenovia, New Life Christian School, Norwich, Oneida, Sherburne-Earlville, Unadilla Valley and Waterville. The show featured work from teens from sixth grade through seniors, in a wide range of media.  The “Best of Show” is determined by popular ballot with one ballot per person attending the exhibit.  Over 285 attended the show.

Our deepest thanks to Golden Artist Colors for the donation of paints for this year’s prize for the “Best of Show.”  In addition, the winner has a $40 gift certificate to the EOH Artisans Gift Shop thanks to an anonymous business donor in Sherburne!

The ninth annual TeensART exhibit featured work from teens from sixth grade through seniors, in a wide range of media. Over 285 people attended.

TeensART is funded, in part, with a grant from the NYS Office of Children and Family Services through the Madison County Youth Bureau.

Hugh Humphreys: The Characters of Spoon River…

"The characters are of many walks of life, such as Hannah Armstrong who traveled to Washington D.C. to try to get her son released from the military, and the Civil War soldier who died at cemetery hill. The poems are sprinkled with bits on Abraham Lincoln..." Coming June 15 and June 16 Spoon River Anthology at the Earlville Opera House - a benefit for EOH and the National Abolition Hall of Fame 315-691-3550

Grammy-Winning Blues: Joe Louis Walker Band

Walker’s new CD, Hellfire on Alligator Records is being hailed as the finest of his long career. Billboard Magazine says, “Hellfire blows all over the map…gutbucket blues, joyous gospel, Rolling Stones-style rock crunch, and aching R&B.”

The Earlville Opera House welcomes the Grammy-winning blues of the Joe Louis Walker Band on Saturday, June 8th at 8pm. Recently inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and nominated for four Blues Music Association awards, Joe Louis Walker is on tour and on fire. This performance is generously sponsored by Hayes Office Products and by media sponsor Syracuse New Times.

Blues Music Awards are universally recognized as the highest honor given to blues artists. JLW’s nominations were for B.B King Entertainer Of The Year, Contemporary Blues Album for release Hellfire, Contemporary Blues Male Artist and for Gibson Guitar.

Walker’s new CD, Hellfire on Alligator Records is being hailed as the finest of his long career. Billboard Magazine says, “Hellfire blows all over the map…gutbucket blues, joyous gospel, Rolling Stones-style rock crunch, and aching R&B.”

Voted Most Outstanding Guitarist by Living Blues critics, Joe Louis Walker is recognized for his original blues and for his passion that has revolutionized the art of the electric guitar. In his review for Honest Tune, Fred Adams notes: “It’s been said that only B.B. King has taken the blues further, and to more destinations, than Walker…Walker proves to be just as vital as ever, continuing to redefine blues in the 21st century, just as he has throughout the past four decades.”

Joe Louis Walker grew up in the Fillmore district of San Francisco in the late fifties and early sixties. His influences include early years playing with Lightnin’ Hopkins, Fred McDowell, Magic Sam and Earl “Zebedee” Hooker. He was part of the musical psychedelic scene. “I knew them all. Carlos Santana and the guys from the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead as well as Sly Stone and Larry Graham. My roommate at the time was Mike Bloomfield, fresh from introducing Bob Dylan to the electric guitar.”

If you have never seen JLW, here’s what you’ve been missing: “Walker sings with a sassy upper register voice but plays like a combination of Jimi, Stevie Ray, Frank Marino, and one of his heroes, Buddy Guy…. the highlight is Walker and his guitar, and you get plenty of both…

“If you have never seen JLW, here’s what you’ve been missing: “Walker sings with a sassy upper register voice but plays like a combination of Jimi, Stevie Ray, Frank Marino, and one of his heroes, Buddy Guy…. the highlight is Walker and his guitar, and you get plenty of both, what with jumping vocals alongside a band that keeps the rhythms nailed and the atmosphere hot.”

Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange, Mark Tucker

Don’t miss an evening with San Francisco blues guitar icon Joe Louis Walker and his biting West Coast blues this Saturday, June 8th! General admission is $18 and $16 for EOH members and students are discounted to $13. Premium seating in the first 4 rows is an added $5.

The EOH Theater is wheelchair-accessible with a ramp and a lift. During your visit, take advantage of the new exhibits in the three EOH Art Galleries, the Artisan’s Gift Shop featuring New York artists and the EOH Arts Café! Delicious refreshments will be available before the show and during intermission, including hot and cold drinks. For more information, or to reserve your seats, call 315-691-3550 or order online at http://www.earlvilleoperahouse.com. The Opera House is located at 18 East Main Street, in Earlville, NY.

EOH events are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and through the generosity of EOH members.

“I have loved this piece for probably sixty years…”

“I have loved this piece for probably sixty years, and about forty-five years ago my wife and I used to read these poems to each other when our kids were young.”

Hugh Humphreys on Spoon River Anthology:

“I have loved this piece for probably sixty years, and about forty-five years ago my wife and I used to read these poems to each other when our kids were young.”

Hugh Humphreys brings the characters and words of Edgar Lee Master to life in his production of Spoon River Anthology about the citizens buried in the graveyard of Spoon River, who have riveting stories to tell of their lives, their failures, their loves, their philosophies, their triumphs, their conflicts, their secrets, and their crimes.  

Coming Sat, June 15 at 8pm and Sun, June 16 at 3pm – Spoon River Anthology at the Earlville Opera House – a benefit for EOH and the National Abolition Hall of Fame

Will Hugh Humphreys turn Spoon River Anthology on its head?

“The script is not copied.” “We are going to present it as actors, delivered in a dramatic fashion that fits the character.” “Rather than breaking for song, we will integrate the music into the play…” H. Humphreys on his production of Spoon River Anthology.

“The script is not copied.” “We are going to present it as actors, delivered in a dramatic fashion that fits the character.” “Rather than breaking for song, we will integrate the music into the play…” H. Humphreys on his production of Spoon River Anthology.

The talented Hugh Humphreys brings to life a production of Spoon River Anthology. The citizens buried in the graveyard of this fictional Midwestern town (Spoon River) tell the riveting stories of their lives, their failures, their loves, their philosophies, their triumphs, their conflicts, their secrets, and their crimes. 

Coming June 15 and June 16 Spoon River Anthology at the Earlville Opera House – a benefit for EOH and the National Abolition Hall of Fame

Spoon River doesn’t pull any punches!

Coming June 15 and June 16 Spoon River Anthology at the Earlville Opera House - a benefit for EOH and the National Abolition Hall of Fame

Loren and Mark – Stunning Guitar-picking and Best Americana

The stunning guitar picking of the Internationally touring guitar duo Loren and Mark earned them a SAMMY award for Best Americana.

Loren Barrigar and Mark Mazengarb play the Earlville Opera House Main Stage on Saturday, June 1^st at 8pm.  The duo share a unique musical chemistry seldom found among musicians. Their live performances feature not only their spectacular technical grasp of the guitar, but also their outstanding musicality and ability to be spontaneously creative. The interaction between the two musicians is as much a feature of their shows as is the world-class guitar playing that they both display.

Loren and Mark’s varied repertoire of original and arranged music consists of stunning guitar duets as well as songs, giving them a wide appeal. Their guitar techniques combine Bluegrass, Jazz and Country with thumb-picking techniques pioneered by guitar greats Merle Travis, Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed, and their songs feature Loren’s superb vocals and some beautiful harmonies from Mark.

Don’t miss this virtuoso guitar duo in the exquisite acoustics of the Earlville Opera House!

Songwriter and guitarist, Loren Barrigar lives in Central New York.  He started his musical career at an early age and at six played in front of thousands at the Grand Ole Opry. His work has appeared on shows like ER and The Young and the Restless. In 2009 he won a SAMMY Award for Best Country CD.

New Zealand-born Mark Mazengarb holds a music degree from NZ’s Wellington Conservatorium of Music where he focused on classical performance. He later discovered the world of Bluegrass and the genre’s legendary musicians.

Barrigar and Mazengarb have toured extensively in both the USA and in Europe, and their fan base is rapidly expanding. They won the SAMMY for Best Americana at the Syracuse Area Music Awards. They recorded their first self-titled album together the summer of 2011.  Their most recent album Onward was released in August 2012.

Come see this virtuoso guitar duo in the exquisite acoustics of the Earlville Opera House on June 1^st!  Tickets are $15, $13 EOH Members and $10 Student.  Premium seating charges apply in the first four rows.  The EOH Theater is wheelchair-accessible with a ramp and a lift.  Don’t forget to visit the new exhibits in the three EOH Art Galleries, the Artisan’s Gift Shop featuring New York artists and the EOH Arts Café!  Delicious refreshments will be available before the show and during intermission, including hot and cold drinks.  For more information, or to reserve your space: call 315-691-3550 or order online at www.earlvilleoperahouse.com.

Hugh Humphreys’ Spoon River Anthology

Hugh Humphreys brings to life a production of Spoon River Anthology. The citizens buried in the graveyard of this fictional Midwestern town (Spoon River) tell the riveting stories of their lives, their failures, their loves, their philosophies, their triumphs, their conflicts, their secrets, and their crimes.

MORE ABOUT THE PLAY:

Hugh Humphreys directs his adaptation of Spoon River Anthology at the Earlville Opera House on June 15 and June 16

SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: “The characters are a cross-section of society:

the spinster schoolteacher who expresses her maternal instinct through attention lavished on students,

the town drunk who unrepentantly relates his death from cirrhosis of the liver,

a lawyer (clutching his only friend in the world, a dog, which apparently followed him into the afterlife) and

his embittered and cruel wife, a vamp, an inventor and legions of cast-off spouses.

Spoon River was a swinging town, full of gamblers, skirt-chasers, liars, fighters, avengers and thieves — and these are just the dead people.” The Washington Times

This production by Hugh Humphreys supports two of his favorite organizations – the Earlville Opera House and the National Abolition Hall of Fame.

For more information about tickets:
www.earlvilleoperahouse.com 315-691-3550 $15, $13 members, $10 students

Yardwork, Woven Stainless Steel, and Amorphous Organic Elements

Summer at EOH begins on June 1 with three New York visual artists from Brooklyn, Brockport, and Eaton in the galleries.

Jeanne Heifetz will show her work at the Earlville Opera House in a show called “The Geometry of Hope” in the East Gallery

In the East Gallery, Jeanne Heifetz pays tribute to postwar Latin-American abstract artists in her “Geometry of Hope” series.  Using woven stainless steel as fabric and delicate, acid-etched glass rods as stitching, Heifetz conveys the relationships between logical rules, improvisation, and comprehensible pattern in the natural world.  She has shown her work in Oregon, California, Montana, Idaho, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.

In the West Gallery, Christian Carson, Assistant Professor of Art and Arts for Children at SUNY Brockport, explores the intersection between human rituals and natural occurrences in “Yardwork.”  The yard is a zone where human desire creates objects that eventually disintegrate (along with the accompanying illusions and ideologies), a new season comes, and it is necessary to begin the process again.  Working in oil on linen and mixed media, Carson brings together decay, manipulated nature, and transformation.  Carson’s work has been shown in New York, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, and Florida.

Image from the exhibit Yardwork by Christian Carson in the EOH West Gallery from June 1 to July 6

A native of the Bronx and graduate of CUNY Hunter College, Rachel Ling has been a Central New York resident since 2009.  Her paintings are based on drawings of objects or images of amorphous organic elements.  Through a process of collage, she creates images that tell a story or express an interesting juxtaposition, and then translates the collage into paintings.  Her work will be shown in the Arts Café Gallery.

All Flesh is Grass is the title work of Rachel Ling’s exhibit: All Flesh is Grass: Confabulations from Life and Mind by Rachel Ling in The Arts Cafe Gallery

A reception for the artists starts at 6 pm on Saturday, June 1st, until 7:45 pm.  The reception is followed by the Sammy Award-winning guitar duo of Loren Barrigar and Mark Mazengarb at 8 pm in the Main Theater.

The Earlville Opera House is located at 18 East Main Street in Earlville.  All three exhibits will run through July 6.  EOH Galleries are open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Friday, and on Saturdays from Noon to 3 pm.  Admission to the EOH galleries is free.

Three new exhbits open with a reception on June 1st from 6pm to 7:45pm before the evening performance of international guitar duo Loren and Mark at 8pm.