The bass-baritone vocals of Oral Moses will thrill audiences at ArtsFest’s opening concert on Friday evening with American spirituals and traditional art songs. Moses’ rich voice has been compared to "the smooth majesty of the late Paul Robeson." Pianist Elizabeth Ann Sears, Professor of Music and Director of the Performance Program at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, will accompany Moses on the piano. "Deep River" is the title song of CD by Oral Moses with Ann Sears on piano, featuring the compositions of Harry T. Burleigh. Selections from the CD are among those featured on the ArtsFest 2003 program. To hear a taste of the songs from "Deep River," go to www.oralmoses.com.
Oral Moses is Professor of Voice and Literature at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. Moses combines an active international performance schedule with scholarly research in black American spirituals and gospel music. His ties to Middleborough are as a longtime colleague of local composer, pianist, and producer, Erik Lindgren, a member of the ArtsFest Steering Committee. Lindgren and his group, Bird Songs of the Mesozoic are currently working with Moses to produce…….
In conjunction with the dedication of the new outdoor sculpture by Boston-area sculptor Melanie Zibit, honoring the Middleboro Public Library's Centennial, a specially commissioned Centennial composition by Erik Lindgren will be performed by Lindgren on piano and Lea Botta on flute.) This opener is followed by a delightful and impressive family performance by Erik Lindgren and The Sonare Winds. The hour-long program will feature the quartet performing a wide range of popular tunes from Rags to Classical to Pop. This is one musical ensemble that can swing and sway, rock out, and dazzle you with its virtuosity. The sculpture will be dedicated in the library garden at 2:00p.m, followed by the concert inside at 2:30.
Erik Lindgren is an internationally acclaimed composer and recording
artist who has performed at the Guimaraes Art Rock Festival in Portugal
with his new music ensemble, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. Sonare Winds,
established in 1994, features Bridgewater residents Lea Botta on flute,
Jessica Matchett
on bassoon and Holly Harding on clarinet.! Stan Strickland Jazz trio.
Boston-based Stan Strickland--vocalist, saxaphonist, flutist, and actor--describes his unique musical style as eclectic and vibrant with influences ranging from blues, funk and world beats to Latin and Native American sounds. Described by the Boston Globe as "complex and deep, often exuberant, and yet accessible to a wide range of musical tastes," Strickland has recently recorded a debut album with his band, Ascension. Performing with Strickland at the Herring Run ArtsFest will be pianist Phiul Argyris and vocalist Jeannie Gagne.
Stan Strickland has performed extensively throughout the US and
Europe. He has appeared with the Boston Pops, Take 5, The Village
People, and many jazz greats including Danilo Perez, Herbie Mann, and
Yusef Latif. He is co-director of Express Yourself, a multicultural
arts collaborative that services special needs children and youth at
risk. He teaches at Berklee College of Music, Longy School of Music,
and Leslie University.
Jeannie Gagne has recorded with Sony artist Philip Glass, sung for
NBC-TV with comedians Penn and Teller, has appeared with reggae legend
Frankie Paul, and has been featured on PBS’s ALL THINGS CONSIDERED and
CBS’s Evening News. She is a voice professor at Berklee College of
Music, Artistic Director of the Halalisa Singers founded by Nick Page,
Music Director for the Middleboro Unitarian Universalist Church and
serves on the national board of the UU Musicians Network. Ms Gagne’s
newly released second album, BLUES ME BABY, is receiving critical
acclaim.
Phiul Argyris is one of Boston’s favorite pianists. His recent debut
recording, A POINT OF DEPARTURE, featuring Stan Strickland and Phil
Grenadier, is receiving critical acclaim. ! Rios-Mello Flamenco
Terrific energy and flare come to ArtsFest’s first-ever dance event via the talents of Rios-Mello Flamenco. The duo is international flamenco dancer Isabel Rios, from Concord, Massachusetts accompanied by guitarist Brian Mello, from New Bedford. Mello is the recipient of several awards from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and has frequently performed in the greater Boston area with El Arte Flamenco.
Guitarist Brian Mello, of New Bedford, Massachusetts comes from a musical family. His paternal grandfather was a portuguese musician luthier and his maternal great-grandparents were musicians from Austria. Antonio Pacheco, a local guitar legend, artist and instructor, introduced Brian to flamenco music over twenty years ago. Mr. Pacheco, now retired, remains a friend and mentor to Brian to this day. Brian continued his studies in flamenco music in Boston with world famous Spanish guitarist “Chuscales” Jose Luis Valle from Granada, Spain, withJuanito Pascual, formerly of Omayra Amaya’s flamenco dance troupe and Kai Narezo, former guitarist of Omayra Amaya’s dance troupe and Ramon de los Reyes Spanish Dance Theatre. Brian has been studying and performing over the last several years with friend and mentor, Roberto Rios, musical director of “El Arte Flamenco” and father of flamenco dancers, Isabel Rios and Faustino Rios. In addition to performing with the flamenco troupe, “El Arte Flamenco”, and Isabel Rios, Brian has performed with numerous musicians over the years as well as a soloist periodically giving musical presentations and lectures on the art of flamenco at numerous schools, libraries and institutions. Brian Mello’s guitar performances have been described as “wonderful”, “dazzling” and “amazing”.
Isabel Rios of Concord, Massachusetts is a dancer born into the art of flamenco. The daughter of guitarist Roberto Rios, sister of flamenco dancer Faustino Rios, and surrounded by flamenco artists all her life, Isabel began classes in flamenco dance at the age of five with Rogelio Rodriguez of Houston, TX. Over the years, she has studied with Luisa Triana, Jose Greco, Nana Lorca, Ramon de los Reyes, and Omayra Amaya in the United States, and with Maria Magdelena and Clara Ramona in Madrid, among others. In addition to being lead dancer and soloist with “El Arte Flamenco” for several years, Isabel has performed with the Ramon de los Reyes Spanish Dance Theatere, Flamenco Company of Omayr Amaya, and as guest artist with Nandial Nayak’s internationally renowned performing group Akhra. In Isabel’s recent sixteen-performance season with the Christmas Revels, critics proclaimed her “one of the highlights of the performance”.
Middleboro musician Erik Lindgren will team up with Sonare Winds for what promises to be a lively and interesting performance.
(back)