{"id":27808,"date":"2023-05-11T09:12:14","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T13:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=27808"},"modified":"2023-05-12T08:13:16","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T12:13:16","slug":"on-stage-jesse-ruben-comes-home-for-show-at-world-cafe-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=27808","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Jesse Ruben comes home for show at World Cafe Live"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Jesse Ruben<\/p><\/div>\n

For Brooklyn based singer\/songwriter Jesse Ruben, his show on May 12 at the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>) is a much-anticipated homecoming.<\/p>\n

Ruben, who moved to New York 12 years ago, grew up in Maple Glen and graduated from Upper Dublin High School. He went on to earn a degree in songwriting at the Berklee College of Music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came from a musical background,\u201d said Ruben, during a phone interview Wednesday evening from his apartment in Brooklyn. \u201cMy dad, Peter Scott Ruben, was a musician who used to do Sinatra shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I graduated from Berklee, I moved to Nashville. It was a fun place to visit but I didn\u2019t want to live there. With the music business, it\u2019s L.A., New York or Nashville. For me, New York was the only place to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruben started his professional music career in New York. The city also held an attraction for his wife Jen Jacob, an actress who has done theater, voice-overs and TV. Recently, she played Dennis Leary\u2019s wife on \u201cLaw and Order: Organized Crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is now on the verge of releasing his third album sometime later this year. The first single from the album is \u201cBelong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Friday is the release date for \u2018Belong,\u2019\u201d said Ruben. \u201cThe album has been sone since before the pandemic. I didn\u2019t know when to release it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried putting music out during the pandemic. It was a weird time. You couldn\u2019t tour. So, I waited. I wanted the songs to be heard by as many people as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruben\u2019s songs have gotten more than a dozen placements in the US and abroad and have been featured on shows like \u201cOne Tree Hill,\u201d \u201cTeen Mom,\u201d \u201cSwitched at Birth,\u201d Germany\u2019s \u201cThe Bachelor\u201d and the recent Disney+ series \u201cDiary of a Future President.\u201d \u00a0All of his albums have reached the Top 10 of the US iTunes Singer\/Songwriter charts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be my third album,\u201d said Ruben, who is known for his lyrical storytelling and engaging live shows. \u201cI\u2019ve also released three EPs and a smattering of singles. My last EP was \u2018Hope\u2019 in 2019 and my last full-length was \u2018Thoughts I\u2019ve Never Had Before, Part 1.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThe songs from the new album were written before the pandemic. The last EP was more electronic and poppy. For the new music, I wanted to get back to acoustic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded the album at Dwight Baker\u2019s studio in Austin \u2013 Matchbox Recording Studio. I was there for 12 or 13 days. Dwight, who is in The Wind and The Wave, did the production.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the songs were about political stuff, and some were about getting older. Some were about mental health, and some were about family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Health has played a major role in Ruben\u2019s music.<\/p>\n

Ruben has run the NYC Marathon three times for The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the largest non-profit devoted to spinal cord injuries, and five times to raise money for Lyme disease research. He is a co-founder of Generation Lyme<\/a>, a community built to empower people facing Lyme disease through sharing patient stories and hosting online Meet-ups.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had Lyme disease starting in 2013,\u201d said Ruben. \u201cIt was a tough time for three years. Now, I\u2019ve been in remission since 2016. With Generation Lyme, I wanted to help people with Lyme disease. We\u2019ve had more than 10,000 people participate in Meet-ups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, Ruben is the founder of The We Can Project<\/a>, an initiative for young students designed to help them discover their passions and give back to their communities. To date, more than 800,000 young people have participated. To promote the program, he was personally invited by Hoda Kotb to perform live on The Today Show.<\/p>\n

His single\u00a0\u201cWe Can\u201d\u00a0from\u00a0\u201cThoughts I\u2019ve Never Had Before, Part 1\u201d\u00a0gained popularity due to its inspirational lyrics. After an elementary school reached out to him and told him that they had played the song to inspire their students, he started\u00a0the We Can project\u00a0to encourage students to make a difference in their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started that project at an elementary school on Vancouver Island in 2013,\u201d said Ruben. \u201cI just did a 10th anniversary show there. The whole project is based on the song. It\u2019s about kids learning new things and giving back to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Jesse Ruben — https:\/\/youtu.be\/59Aj9E5lCn0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live on May 12 will start at 8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $17.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Amy Ray<\/p><\/div>\n

On May 11, another solo artist making music that is socially conscious will make an area visit when Amy Ray headlines a show at the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Ray is also another singer\/songwriter whose plans were derailed by the pandemic. She is also one-half of the band Indigo Girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made an Indigo Girls\u2019 record \u2013 \u2018Look Long\u2019 — in England,\u201d said Ray, during a phone interview Wednesday evening from her home in rural Georgia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt came out in early 2020. Then, our summer 2020 tour got cancelled because of COVID. We put the album out in May even though there was no tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t tour for 18 months. This year, I did a solo tour in the Southeast in February. Usually, May is the month to do solo stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ray\u2019s latest solo album is \u201cIf It All Goes South.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI released the album last year,\u201d said Ray. \u201cI recorded in Nashville at Sound Emporium.\u201d<\/p>\n

The album was recorded live in the studio on analog tape.<\/p>\n

\u201cI prefer recording on analog,\u201d said Ray. \u201cChoosing Sound Emporium was mostly about the tape machinery \u2013 mostly about the gear and the upkeep of it. If work is needed on the machines, Nashville has tech people who know how to do it and they get it done quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had done a lot of pre-production during the pandemic from our home studios. We had a lot of arrangements ready for the recording of the album. The country stuff I do \u2013 all the stuff leads to Americana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recorded live to tape at Sound Emporium and mainly produced by her frequent collaborator Brian Speiser, \u201cIf It All Goes South\u201d owes much of its freewheeling vitality to the potent chemistry between Ray and her longtime bandmates, including guitarist Jeff Fielder (a Seattle-based musician known for his work with artists like Mark Lanegan and Duff McKagan), keyboardist Daniel Walker (Heart, Ann Wilson, John Fullbright), pedal-steel player Matt Smith (also a member of The Honeycutters), banjo player Alison Brown, fiddle player\/guitarist Adrian Carter, bassist Kerry Brooks, and drummer Jim Brock.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always did analog with this band,\u201d said Ray. \u201cThis band has been together for over 10 years. For us, it was that idea of being spontaneous. It was a really fun experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The album was in many ways a product of the environment \u2013 an environment of a pandemic shutdown.<\/p>\n

According to Ray, \u201cMost of this album was written during the pandemic, so I wanted to write songs that were healing and hopefully offered some sort of comfort. At the same time, I was going to protests and watching what was happening in the world, and that all went into the music too. The whole time I kept telling myself, \u2018You\u2019ve got it really good, so just do what you can to bring some positivity to people and let them know they\u2019re not alone.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As a gay liberal living in the South, Ray is always going to be exposed to a segment of the population that is racist, homophobic or both.<\/p>\n

\u201cI write a lot about the South,\u201d said Ray. \u201cThe greatest mission for me was to try to be an anti-racist \u2013 having empathy even when you disagree. With my music, I want to provide a ray of hope amid all the political upheaval, activism and racism. It\u2019s about healing and love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Amy Ray — https:\/\/youtu.be\/F-Ybaw-GF2k<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Sellersville Theater on May 11 will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices start at $29.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Roomful of Blues<\/p><\/div>\n

Back in November, Roomful of Blues returned to the area for a show at the Sellersville Theater. The Rhode Island-based band with a recording career that has lasted longer than 50 years and resulted in more than 20 albums, has played at the Sellersville Theater numerous times in the past including August 2021.<\/p>\n

Finding it hard to resist the allure of the venue — great sound, nice management, gourmet food from the adjacent hotel, and, most importantly, dedicated fans — the band is coming back to play another gig in Sellersville.<\/p>\n

On May 12, Roomful of Blues will headline another Friday show at the Sellersville Theater.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing mostly weekends now,\u201d said guitarist\/bandleader Chris\u00a0Vachon, during a phone interview from his New England home. \u201cWeekday stuff isn\u2019t there anymore. This weekend, we\u2019re doing Philly (Sellersville) and New York<\/p>\n

Roomful of Blues makes good records, but the band really thrives on stage. Thankfully, the road is opening up for the veteran musicians.<\/p>\n

\u201cStuff is starting to come in,\u201d said Vachon. \u201cWe got new management and gigs are trickling in. Still, with a large band \u2013 nine members \u2013 it\u2019s really expensive to go out on tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band has toured worldwide and has treated fans around the world to its unique blend of a variety of music genres including rock and roll, swing, R&B, boogie-woogie, soul and a number of different blues styles.<\/p>\n

Roomful of Blues has received five Grammy Award nominations and seven Blues Music Awards, including \u201cBlues Band Of The Year\u201d in 2005. The Down Beat International Critics Poll has twice selected Roomful of Blues as \u201cBest Blues Band\u201d.<\/p>\n

Over the years, more than 50 different musicians have been part of Roomful of Blues\u2019 line-up, including vocalist\/guitarist Duke Robillard, vocalist Lou Ann Barton, keyboardist Junior Brantley and trumpeter Fred Jackson.<\/p>\n

Roomful of Blues is currently a nine-piece unit featuring guitarist\/bandleader Chris\u00a0Vachon,\u00a0Rich Lataille (tenor and alto sax player), Alek Razdan (baritone and tenor saxophone), Rusty Scott (piano, Hammond B-3 organ), Carl Gerhard (trumpet), John Turner (bass), Phil Pemberton (vocals) and Chris Anzalone (drums).<\/p>\n

Roomful of Blues\u2019 first album was an eponymous release in 1978 and the most recent is the \u201cIn A Roomful Of Blues\u201d LP.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur last album was right when the pandemic started,\u201d said\u00a0Vachon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn A Roomful Of Blues,\u201d the band\u2019s sixth\u00a0release on Alligator Records, features 13 wide-ranging songs, including 10\u00a0band-composed originals \u2014 more than on any previous Roomful album. Eight songs were written or co-written byVachon\u00a0(including one authored with vocalist Phil Pemberton) plus one each by sax player Alek Razdan and keyboardist Rusty Scott.<\/p>\n

The album features a definite variety of music styles \u2014 soaring blues, zydeco twists, late-night ballads, Latin-tinged funk and a touch of vintage, fifth-gear rock \u2018n\u2019 roll.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe album came out on March 13, 2020\u2013 Friday the 13th \u2013 right when COVID hit,\u201d said\u00a0Vachon. \u201cCOVID was tough on us. Nobody in the band and its family got it but we were pretty much out of it for a year-and-a-half. We couldn\u2019t have any gigs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always done a lot of weekend stuff \u2013 mainly because there\u2019s not much going on during the week. Our shows are mostly Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how many we do a year. It\u2019s a pretty good amount. Half the guys in the band are from Boston and half are from Rhode Island. It\u2019s also hard to get together because people have families and other responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re playing a lot of the new album in our current live show,\u201d said\u00a0Vachon. \u201cWe change it up every night. We always mix it up. We\u2019ve got a lot of stuff from over the years. We\u2019ve got so many albums, it\u2019s hard to just pull one out. We try to keep some variety there with tempos and beats \u2014 trying to mix it up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I like to do is have a variety of stuff, so people aren\u2019t listening to the same beat repeatedly. It\u2019s more of a journey instead of 10 shuffles in a row. And we do a fair number of covers \u2014 not familiar stuff but rather mostly obscure stuff that no-one knows.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new album might be on the horizon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re probably going to do another record soon,\u201d said Vachon. \u201cI have some songs written but we haven\u2019t recorded any yet. I\u2019ll do some in my own studio and the rest at a studio in Connecticut \u2013 Power Station Northeast in Waterford. I\u2019m not sure when we\u2019re going to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not many bands stay together for more than 10-15 years. Very few make it past 25 and passing a 40th anniversary is almost unheard of. Roomful of Blues celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017 and its roster has featured more than 55 members in 54 years. The current line-up is the most stable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason for our longevity is the music we like to play,\u201d said\u00a0Vachon. \u201cWe\u2019ve had our ups and downs. Some years we\u2019ve toured more than others. We currently play about 150 shows a year. The band keeps getting new fans and there are a lot of older people who have been listening to us for years. For young people, their only exposure to us has been at festivals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video for Roomful of Blues \u2014\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/jx4Bd9FOrNc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the Sellersville Theater will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices start at $29.50.<\/p>\n

On May 11, the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore,\u00a0www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>) will host the Watson Twins for the first time.<\/p>\n

The Watson Twins\u00a0are an\u00a0Americana\u00a0band based in Nashville, formed by\u00a0identical twin\u00a0sisters Chandra and Leigh Watson.<\/p>\n

They attended the\u00a0University of Evansville\u00a0then moved to the\u00a0Silver Lake\u00a0neighborhood of\u00a0Los Angeles\u00a0in 1998, where they were founding members of Slydell. They also began writing their own music and performing with other local musicians.<\/p>\n

In 2006, the Watson Twins released their debut EP,\u00a0\u201cSouthern Manners,\u201d simultaneously with\u00a0\u201cRabbit Fur Coat,\u201d their collaboration with singer-songwriter\u00a0Jenny Lewis. Their album,\u00a0\u201cFire Songs,\u201d\u00a0was released in June 2008. In February 2010, they released\u00a0their sophomore album, \u201cTalking To You, Talking To Me\u201d\u00a0on\u00a0Vanguard Records.<\/p>\n

In the last 12 years, they released the \u201cNight Covers\u201d EP in 2011, \u201cPioneer Lane\u201d in 2013, \u201cDUO\u201d in 2018 and \u201cHoller,\u201d which will be released next month on June 23.<\/p>\n

The Watson Twins grew up in the American South. They sang in the church choir. They listened to gospel classics and country standards. Those sounds became part of their musical foundation, connecting the siblings to their Kentucky hometown even after they relocated to Los Angeles and, years later, settled in Nashville.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came to Philly in 2009 when we were opening for Jenny Lewis,\u201d said Chandra Watson, during a phone interview last week on their way to a tour stop in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were touring \u2018DUO,\u2019 which has just come out. We were fortunate to be opening for Jenny. She\u2019s great \u2013 and she is a friend who has introduced us to a lot of audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, the Watson Twins are touring \u201cHoller.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re playing some of the \u2018Holler\u2019 songs,\u201d said Leigh Watson. \u201cThe band that was on the record will be out on the road with us. We\u2019ve been playing together for more than four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we started writing the new music, we wanted to write something joyful \u2014something to bring smiles to people\u2019s faces.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it came time to record \u201cHoller,\u201d The Watson Twins found a natural partner in producer Butch Walker. Like them, Walker was a southern native who’d spent more than a decade in Los Angeles, blurring the lines between indie music, rock & roll, and more rootsy sounds. Weeks after Walker moved to Tennessee, the Watsons found themselves in his recording studio, surrounded by the musicians who had become their main bandmates.<\/p>\n

With Walker joining the group on harmony vocals, acoustic guitar, and the occasional guitar solo, the band tracked each song live, capturing the spirit and spontaneity of The Watson Twins\u2019 concerts in real time. Chandra and Leigh even recorded their vocals simultaneously, both singers standing within arm\u2019s length of one another, matching their vowel sounds and mouth shapes while the tape rolled. \u201cHoller\u201d was finished quickly and exuberantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded it in five days with our band,\u201d said Chandra. \u201cWe used Butch Walker\u2019s studio, The Butcher Shop. The studio has a good mix of digital and analog gear. The space has its own energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded it live in the studio. We were all in the same room \u2013 able to let the music take over. The songs were written after the pandemic \u2013 March 2022 \u2013 and we recorded at the end of July.\u201d<\/p>\n

Living as twins for almost five decades, Chandra and Leigh are well accustomed to collaboration. Their last two albums took a different direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cChandra and I used to write everything separately,\u201d said Leigh. \u201cFor almost everything up to \u2018DUO\u2019,\u2019 we\u2019d write separately and then sing the song together. Sharing so much growing up, we wanted to something individual.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith \u2018DUO,\u2019 we decided to write everything together. It made a difference. It made us stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proof of that is in evidence in \u201cHoller,\u201d which is their most collaborative album ever \u2013 and their strongest.<\/p>\n

Video link for the Watson Twins — https:\/\/youtu.be\/K4oxI3Fg-8E<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the Ardmore Music Hall, which also features Heartless Bastards, will start at 8 \u00a0p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $35.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking to hear jazz or blues music live, then you need to look no further than Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985,www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>). The Delaware County venue is a prime destination to hear folk, jazz and blues music every Thursday through Sunday.<\/p>\n

The \u201cJazz at Jamey\u2019s\u201d on Thursdays and the \u201cSunday Blues Brunch & Jam\u201d are regular features on Jamey\u2019s calendar while Friday and Saturday night shows feature national and regional acts.<\/p>\n

The headline acts this weekend are The Dale Melton Trio on May 12 and a twin bill featuring The Lucky Losers and Emily Adams on May 13.<\/p>\n

The show at Jamey\u2019s on Friday will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.<\/p>\n

The show at Jamey\u2019s on Saturday will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door.<\/p>\n

The \u201cJazz at Jamey\u2019s\u201d show this week will feature Ella\u00a0Gahnt.<\/p>\n

Ella\u00a0Gahnt\u00a0is not only her (stage) name, but also a description of the music she plays and of her singing style.<\/p>\n

Gahnt\u00a0is a vocalist in the jazz\/traditional pop style who has performed with some of the most talented musicians in the quad-state area of Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware and New York. She also has worked professionally as a studio vocalist\/performer for many years.<\/p>\n

\u201cElla\u00a0Gahnt, which is my stage name, was given to me by my husband Leon Mitchell,\u201d said\u00a0Gahnt, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from her home in the East Oak Lane section of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes from the persona I want when I perform \u2013 elegant. I wat to be like the performers back in the day who dressed to the nines \u2013 Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole. They put on a show. It\u2019s all about entertaining.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell is a sax player and a key figure in Philly area jazz support groups such as The Jazz Bridge Project. He is also the Musical Director of the Philadelphia Legends of Jazz Orchestra<\/p>\n

\u201cI sang in church choirs when I was little then glee clubs in junior high and choirs in high school,\u201d said\u00a0Gahnt, a graduate of West Philadelphia High School. \u201cI was also in one of the last versions of the Orlons in the late 60s.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Orlons were an R&B group from Philadelphia. The group had nine Top 20 hits. \u201cThe Wah-Watusi,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t Hang Up,\u201d and \u201cSouth Street\u201d each sold over one million copies and were awarded\u00a0gold disc status.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 1980s, I decided I wanted to be a jazz singer,\u201d said\u00a0Gahnt. \u201cI started listening to old favorites \u2013 especially to learn the songs and find different versions of the songs I liked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a big fan of Chick Corea and Return to Forever. I learned his song \u2018You\u2019re Everything.\u2019 A lot of people played it but no-one played it the way Chick Corea wrote it. I played it the way Chick Corea wrote it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first jazz show was at the Freedom Theater. I was the featured vocalist for the Mike Hill Trio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my live shows, I do mostly traditional jazz \u2013 including some originals. One original is the set opener \u2018What You\u2019ll Hear from Me\u2019 and another is \u2018Let It Be Yesterday.\u2019 I also do a lot of jazz standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI venture into the more challenging music. When I\u2019m working with guys on a regular basis, they can handle music that\u2019s more challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gahnt\u00a0has released several albums over the years including \u201cImmaculate Union,\u201d \u201cThird Stage of Elegance,\u201d and \u201cBy Request.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m working now on a new album,\u201d said\u00a0Gahnt. \u201cIt\u2019s a new project for Aaron Graves and me. It\u2019s pretty much all recorded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Ella\u00a0Gahnt\u00a0\u2014\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/1jQyZncKxZg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Jamey\u2019s on Thursday will get underway at 7 p.m. There is a $10 cover charge.<\/p>\n

On May 13, Kennett Symphony (kennettsymphony.org<\/a>) will present a special Mother\u2019s Day concert under the direction of Music Director, Michael Hall.<\/p>\n

The \u201cMother\u2019s Day Weekend Chamber Music Concert\u201d is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. at Winterthur\u2019s Copeland Lecture Hall (Winterthur Museum, 5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware).<\/p>\n

In celebration of Mother\u2019s Day and in tribute to Winterthur\u2019s upcoming exhibit featuring Ann Cole Lowe, the Kennett Symphony is performing a concert that features the beauty and artistry of women composers of the 20th Century — women composers who created in musical form what Ms. Lowe created through her magnificent designs.<\/p>\n

This special concert features chamber music performed by Kennett Symphony musicians interspersed with insightful commentary presented by Music Director Michael Hall.<\/p>\n

The program will feature Amy Beach: String Quartet Op 89 and Florence B. Price: Piano Quintet in A minor.<\/p>\n

Beach\u00a0was an American composer and pianist. She was the first successful American female composer of large-scale\u00a0art music. Her\u00a0\u201cGaelic Symphony,\u201d which was premiered by the\u00a0Boston Symphony Orchestra\u00a0in 1896, was the first symphony composed and published by an American woman.<\/p>\n

She was one of the first American composers to succeed without the benefit of European training, and one of the most respected and acclaimed American composers of her era. As a pianist, she was acclaimed for concerts she gave featuring her own music in the United States and in Germany.<\/p>\n

Amy Beach\u2019s String Quartet in One Movement, Op. 89 was created in 1921 and based on three Inuit songs. Beach\u2019s composition is lyrical and dissonant simultaneously. The one-movement quartet is in modified arch form. The themes and the piece\u2019s texture are based on three Inuit melodies.<\/p>\n

Beach\u2019s String Quartet in One Movement, Op. 89 has been lauded as \u201ca successful integration of art and folk music, and a truly \u2018American\u2019 composition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Price was an American\u00a0classical\u00a0composer,\u00a0pianist,\u00a0organist\u00a0and\u00a0music teacher. Price was educated at the\u00a0New England Conservatory of Music and was active in\u00a0Chicago\u00a0from 1927 until her death in 1953. Price is noted as the first\u00a0African American\u00a0woman to be recognized as a\u00a0symphonic\u00a0composer, and the first to have a composition played by a major\u00a0orchestra.<\/p>\n

She wrote four symphonies and other large-scale orchestral pieces; concertos for the\u00a0piano\u00a0and the\u00a0violin; two string quartets, and other chamber and instrumental pieces, as well as large-scale choral works, songs and numerous solo\u00a0organ\u00a0and piano pieces — including her 1931 Piano Sonata that won the Rodman Wanamaker Contest in Musical Composition.<\/p>\n

In 2009, a substantial collection of her works and papers was found in her abandoned summer home in Illinois. This collection of music included the Piano Quintet in A minor.<\/p>\n

This piece by Price is in her typical late-Romantic style yet infused the sounds of spirituals and hymns from her life.\u00a0Quintet in A Minor is performed in four movements.<\/p>\n

Tickets, which are $25 ($10 for students), must be purchased directly from Winterthur (www.winterthur.org\/calendar\/mothers-day-concert<\/a>). Ticket price includes the concert and general admission to visit and enjoy the garden and galleries after the concert.<\/p>\n

In June, the Symphony will perform the third installment of its Masterworks Series. On June 25, \u201cMasterworks 3: Symphony Under the Stars\u201d will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Longwood Gardens\u2019 Open Air Theatre.<\/p>\n

Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295,\u00a0http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) will present\u00a0\u201cBetter Than Bacon Improv: Bacon Gives Back: Kennett Area Community Service and Chester County Food Bank\u201d on May 11, Blank Pages with special guest Jac Conner om May 12, Kennett Metal Fest on May 13, and Moon Letters on May 17.<\/p>\n

Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a>) will present \u201cThe Little Mermaid Jr.\u201d musical from May 12-14 and the musical \u201cInto the Woods\u201d from May 19-21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times For Brooklyn based singer\/songwriter Jesse Ruben, his show on May 12 at the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, www.worldcafelive.com) is a much-anticipated homecoming. Ruben, who moved to New York 12 years ago, grew up in Maple Glen and graduated from Upper Dublin High School. He went […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8002,3162,11089,2718],"class_list":["post-27808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-amy-ray","tag-featured","tag-jesse-ruben","tag-roomful-of-blues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27808"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27816,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27808\/revisions\/27816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}