Schickele and P.D.Q., as Jekyll and Hyde, at the Forum
BY PETER HUMMERS | SENTINEL STAFF


The noted P.D.Q. Bach "scholar*," Professor Peter Schickele, shared some of his findings with a delighted Outer Banks Forum audience at the First Flight High School Saturday evening.

P.D.Q. Bach (1807-1742?), the "last and least offspring" of Johann Sebastian Bach, has been called a "pimple on the face of music," "the worst musician ever to have trod organ pedals" and other things not quite so complimentary.

The indefatiguable Professor Schickele is constantly discovering new musical outrages committed by the the "most dangerous musician since Nero" (he actually discovered one during the performance - under the lectern onstage) and is unafraid to commit them in public.

He was joined in his life's work this evening by soprano Michele Eaton, tenor Brian Dougherty and long-suffering stage manager William Walters.

The "Jekyll and Hyde" appellation referred to the structure of the performance. The first half of the evening was dedicated to P.D.Q.'s music; the second to Schickele's own compositions of advanced modern music, which ranged from the whimsical to the seriously beautiful.

Throughout, Schickele handled instrumental chores, mostly pianistical, although P.D.Q.'s Shepherd on the Rocks, With a Twist featured two instruments invented by Bach, the tromboon (a cross between a trombone and a bassoon, combining all the disadvantages of both in one easy-to-schlep instrument) and the lasso d'amore. Schickele also sang; several performances featured three-voice a capella arrangements.

The Bach offerings included Four Next-to-Last Songs such as "Gretchen am Spincycle," about the relationship between God and a young maiden doing her laundry, and "Es war ein dark und shtormy Night."

Shepherd on the Rocks, With a Twist was terrific and horrific; the tromboon was easily as scary as the bagpipe, which was originally, of course, designed to intimidate Scotland's enemies on the battlefield.

Much of the audience, including this reviewer, was delirious during the first half of the evening. Some of the humor depended on a knowledge of classical music and letters (Johann Schiller was in the habit of frequently borrowing money from his girlfriend, so much so that he ultimately wrote a poem about what he "owed to Joy"), but much was in the more accessible vein of the Marx Brothers. During Prof. Schickele's keyboard antics, almost all that stood in the way of his channeling Chico Marx was his neglecting to "shoot" keys with his index finger, although he did, by playing in mid-air to the right of the keyboard, play some notes that were "too high-pitched for humans to hear."

Apres-intermezzo, Prof. Schickele played some of his own brilliant music, no fooling around. Well, not too much fooling around, although he has a soft spot for rounds and canons ("Row, row, row your boat"), much as a writer might enjoy limericks. Many of these were sung a capella and combined sparkling music with comparable wordplay.

He performed his art song "Dear, If You Change," with soprano Eaton, a lovely setting of an anonymous Elizabethan lyric. The piano accompaniment carried just the hint of dischord, giving the effect of a slightly subdued Charles Ives song, and Eaton rode along expertly, her pure voice lending a final touch of poignancy.

Prof. Schickele said, "You know what they say about the sixties: if you can remember them, you weren't there. I don't remember writing this song," before playing "Blue Window (in My Mind)," which phrase, he said, definitely marked it as a sixties song.

As to the fooling around, the singers did perform three rounds by P.D.Q., including "P.D.Q. 3-Step Crab Dinner" and "The Mule," based on the lyric "The mule he has two legs behind, and two he has before. You get behind before you find what the two behind be for."

The Professor's own Two For the Road included "Songs From Shakespeare" rendered in modern musical idioms (idia?) like boogie woogie, rap and doo-wop, and which could have come from Frank Zappa's Ruben and the Jetsalbum, but with the immortal Bard as lyricist. Like everything else during the evening, it represented a sort of unified field theory of music and wit.

*Some have gone so far as to suggest that P.D.Q. Bach is entirely a figment of Prof. Schickele's fevered imagination. He said he was just as real as the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy and other such upstanding citizens.

Peter Hummers covers entertainment on, and about, the Outer Banks. Reviews are archived at Outer Banks Onstage. Copyrighted under aCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Peter Hummers covers local entertainment on Outer Banks Onstage.
© 2009 Peter Hummers



Sax appeal on display at the Forum
BY PETER HUMMERS | SENTINEL STAFF


The New Century Saxophone Quartet demonstrated the success of Adolphe Sax's invention: He wanted to create the most versatile brass instrument - and the loudest.

The Outer Banks Forum stage at the First Flight High School held only four music stands and four bottles of water Saturday night. Nary an amplifier or microphone could be seen. Check, for Adolphe's second desired attribute. The four members of the NCSQ easily proved the first.

Michael Stephenson, soprano saxophone, Chris Hemingway, alto, Stephen Pollock, tenor, and Wayne Leechford, baritone, took on composers from Johann Sebastian Bach (born 1685) to Lenny Pickett (b. 1954). The resulting concert was a revelation.

The genius of J.S. Bach, who died 91 years before the sax was invented, nonetheless embraced the curious brass woodwind that he would never see. Although his Art of Fugue was probably intended ultimately for keyboard (Bach was a virtuoso organist), he composed it using open scoring, where each voice is written on its own staff. That made it perfect for a group of four instruments ranging from soprano to baritone - such as the NCSQ, who ran with it.

Contrapunctus I, II, IV and IX highlighted the range of the four instruments onstage. Each movement, or "counterpoint," is like a "round," where one player begins playing, one bar later the next instrument starts at the beginning, and so on. But in a fugue the subsequent parts are variations of the previous ones, which also need to mesh with them, and the NCSQ filled the hall with intricate, elegant and lively music.

The differences between the four saxes became apparent, from the high voice of the soprano to the thick foundation of the baritone. The sound was warmer than brass but stronger than other woodwinds. (The saxophone is classified as a woodwind, for its reeded mouthpiece, not as a brass instrument, though that's usually what it's made of.)

A happy surprise was the music of Jean-Baptiste Singelee (b. 1812), whose very rich and melodic music seems written for the sax - because it was: Singlelee was a friend of Adolphe Sax. The NCSQ played his Premier Quatuor, Op. 53, which may have been the first music written for the new instrument.

The evening was rounded off with the music of modern composers Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Astor Piazzolla and Lenny Pickett, who used more of the modern vernacular that most saxophone players grew up with. Typically, the members of the NCSQ began playing rhythm and blues and jazz, but like other jazz players (Winton Marsalis, Chick Corea et al.) became entranced by the beauty and challenge of classical music.

Pickett, the "Saturday Night Live" musical director, wrote his modernistSaxophone Quartet No. 2 for the NCSQ using much of that vernacular. The first movement ("Moderato") is a "low-down" blues, along the lines of Muddy Waters' "Rollin' and Tumblin'." The minimalist "Largo" movement includes an obligatto inspired by J.S. Bach (yes, it's an interesting piece) and the "Allegro" movement is a synthesis of the first two: African rhythms overlaid with mathematical counterpoint like that in The Art of Fugue.

When music detaches itself from its source it takes on the universality of the cosmos and becomes like the sounds of nature, but nature with a story to tell. The specific instrumentation is then almost irrelevant, be it a penny-whistle or an orchestra. The brilliant music of the NCSQ flew around the auditorium, engaging and moving the audience, many of whom nodded in time to it with eyes closed, perfectly happy.

By the way, the next Outer Banks Forum concert will feature world-renowned composer and classical-music parodist "Professor" Peter Schickele (P.D.Q. Bach), who has written music himself for the NCSQ. Pollock requested the audience pass along a message to the professor from them: "Tell him, 'Hey, man.'"

Peter Hummers covers entertainment on, and about, the Outer Banks. Reviews are archived at Outer Banks Onstage. Copyrighted under aCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Peter Hummers covers local entertainment on Outer Banks Onstage.
© 2009 Peter Hummers



Hot Club preaches 'Djangology' at the Forum
BY PETER HUMMERS | SENTINEL STAFF


The west-coast gypsy-jazz outfit the Hot Club of San Francisco came to the First Flight High School for the Outer Banks Forum concert Saturday.

Leader Paul Mehling called the evening "Django 101," referring to the legendary Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt, who led the Hot Club of France in the 1930's and '40's.

Mehling was more like a minister, though, preaching the gospel of Django while effacing his own preaching skills. A phenomenal guitarist, and playing the same model of rare guitar that Reinhardt used, he was able to replicate that rare sound that intoxicates guitarists and others lucky enough to hear it.

But he took care to justify everything he played (his own music, Reinhardt's and others') with Django. "We operate on the principal of What if Django were alive today," he said. "WWDD? If you think that's funny, we want you to know that Django loves you." While playing, he saw only as far as his own fleet fingers.

And his band was supremely up to it as well. The personnel onstage was Django's invention, the gypsy jazz band: a bass (Clint Baker), two rhythm guitarists (Isabelle Fontaine and Jeff Magidson) instead of drums, a violin (Evan Price) instead of a trumpet or saxophone, and a solo guitar (Mehling) instead of a trumpet or saxophone or clarinet. No drums, no piano, but a lot of strings.

They played Mehling's own compositions, opening with "Don't Panic," a full-immersion primer into "gypsy jazz." A unison guitar/violin verse was the jumping off point for some high-speed improvisation and a stop-time bass solo.

They played historical examples from the roots of the genre, like "Flambee Montalbanese," a "waltz musette," a delicate but uptempo dance tune from the (previous) turn of the century, described as a recipe for gypsy jazz: classical music, traditional gypsy music, dance music and jazz, which was new at the time.

Mehling talked about Reinhardt: an illiterate gypsy born in a wagon in 1910, a guitar prodigy. "He was a prodigy, like Beethoven and Mozart, but because he was a gypsy, and because he played jazz, he wasn't as recognized as Beethoven or Mozart."

And he talked about Stephane Grapelli, the sophisticated French violinist that Reinhardt teamed up with, and their travails: Since jazz was an American music, and therefore "correctly" played only by Americans, it took a few years for them to get a recording contract, but on the strength of their talent and popularity, the Hot Club of France wound up with RCA Victor, then the largest record company in the world.

Of course the Hot Club of San Francisco played Reinhardt's own music, including "Diminishing Blackness," composed in a bomb shelter during WWII, and "Tears," based on a traditional gypsy tune, described by Mehling as "a little bit sad, a little bit happy." It started out hauntingly soft, with restrained solos from Price, who channeled Grapelli: he played around the melody, embellishing it with beautiful decorations.

For one of the few vocal performances of the evening, rhythm guitarist Fontaine stepped to the mic to sing "Me, Myself and I" in a great voice with a beautiful controlled vibrato a little like the young Ella Fitzgerald's. The band left a lot of room for solos, including a dynamic bass solo.

They played modern music in the style of the Hot Club of France (What would Django do?). Paolo Conte's "Alle Prese con Una Verde Milonga" was a dreamy meditation with lots of space. Mehling's Djangoesque solo was slow and spare, while not forsaking his trademark flourishes. Price drew long melodic lines and harmonics from his violin.

During the evening proper, everyone stayed at their stations, except when Fontaine took to the mic for her vocal. But for the two encore numbers, everyone got a chance to shine. Baker stepped from behind his bass (which Mehling took over) with a trumpet and vocal on a Dixieland rendition of W.C. Handy's "Hesitating Blues." Rhythm guitarist Magidson then took Mehling's chair and led the band in "Avalon," which Fontaine sang, while Baker moved to a rhythm guitar.

The musicians made up for their previous static positions with this number. Magidson took a guitar solo, Baker took another on trumpet, and Mehling shone on the bass. Magidson strummed his guitar like a four-string banjo and Fontaine led the band home.

"We'd probably be playing tonight if we weren't here, but it's fun to play for an audience, particularly one that likes us," Mehling said. "Duke Ellington said it best: We love you madly."

Peter Hummers covers local entertainment on Outer Banks Onstage.
© 2009 Peter Hummers



ABC's of Music
BY PETER HUMMERS | SENTINEL STAFF


Leader Paul Mehling called the evening "Django 101," referring to the legendary Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt, who led the Hot Club of France in the 1930's and '40's.

ABC's of Music at the Outer Banks Forum From left, accompanist Linda Althoff, pianist Matthew Van Hoose (receiving a red rose and a handshake from Outer Banks Forum Vice President John Tucker), baritone William Culverhouse, and sopranos Sarah Murphy and Deborah Engelsdorfer take a curtain call during the 'Arias, Broadway and Chopin' concert at the First Flight High School Saturday evening. More photos are in the print and E-editions of the Oct. 28, 2009 Sentinel.

Peter Hummers covers local entertainment on Outer Banks Onstage.
© 2009 Peter Hummers




The Capitol Steps put the 'mock' in 'democracy'
BY PETER HUMMERS | SENTINEL STAFF

Chapter 6 sings 'Sweet, Sweet Spirit' without microphones. >From left, Aaron Stonecipher, Chuck Bosworth, John Musick, Brock Thornsbrough, Nathan Pufall and Jarrett Johnson. Not shown is arranger Mark Grizzard. (Peter Hummers | Sentinel)

It was clear that the theCapitol Steps' satirical revue was going to be special soon after they were introduced to the audience at the Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts Saturday evening.

As their accompanist sat silently at his piano on an otherwise bare stage, a disembodied voice announced: "Ladies and gentlemen: Welcome to this performance of the Capitol Steps. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the emergency exits located around the room. In the event of an emergency, please remain seated and wait for a federal bailout."

It didn't let up after that. "Joe Biden" came on stage, introducing himself: "Hello, I'm Vice President Joe Biden, and I've been asked not to speak in public. But here I am."

The Capitol Steps were formed in 1981 when 3 staffers for Senator Charles Percy were planning entertainment for a Christmas party. Their website states, "Our first idea was to stage a nativity play, but in the whole Congress they couldn't find three wise men or a virgin!"

They went on to produce dozens of albums, appearing on "Good Morning America," the "Today Show," "20/20," "Entertainment Tonight," "Nightline," CNN's "Inside Politics," and dozens of times on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."

Today the entire troupe numbers 25, with five pianists. Five members and their accompanist came to the First Flight High School with skits and song parodies Saturday, leaving the audience helpless with laughter for most of the evening.

Using simple costumes, wigs and vocal mimicry, they left no doubt as to who was onstage at any time. "Nancy Pelosi" and a disheveled "Harry Reid" ("Our master of race relations") joined "Vice President Joe" for a song about the bailouts, "Return to Spender," to the tune of an early Elvis song.

The songs and skits segued seamlessly from one to the next, the cast members running onstage and off (to change costumes) while their pianist handled the musical transitions. The musicality of the group was top-notch; everything from solos to four-part harmonies were assayed with confidence and their accompanist never put a note wrong.

The mimicry ranged from very good to brilliant, and all the material was just side-splitting. All points of view were skewered; some politicians and cultural heroes and heroines presented larger targets than others, but both sides of the aisle were well-represented (Sarah Palin and the Clintons, for example).

An inmate of Guantanamo in a beard and orange jumpsuit, anticipating his release, sang, to the tune of the Beatles' "Paperback Writer," "But I need a job and I want to be a taxicab dri-ver." "Sarah Palin" said hello "to the great state of Kill Devil Hills" and gave her regards to the many people who have encouraged her to run for president "in oh-twelve. Now of course, many of them are Democrats, but you betcha!"

The material was also up-to-the-minute. A cast member came onstage to sing about a well-known televangelist and his reaction to the Haitian earthquake, to the tune of the popular Simon and Garfunkel song from "The Graduate," "And here's to you, Reverend Robertson; Jesus doesn't even watch your show no, no, no"

The centerpiece of the evening was the traditional Steps piece, "Lirty Dies," a monologue about the year-that-was, told as if by Reverend Spooner, the Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notorious for inadvertantly switching the initial consonent sounds in pairs of words, and who once allegedly said, in a toast to Queen Victoria, "Three cheers for our queer old dean!"

With its rapid delivery, "Lirty Dies" provided a sometimes surprisingly apt surreal commentary and subtext together about current newsmakers. While much of it can't be printed in a family newspaper (for instance, what "follow their hearts" becomes), but it was all stupendously funny (or fupendously stunny). By the way, the Steps have posted words and recordings to many of their past "Lirty Dies" on their website, along with a lot of other content.

Tiger Woods ("Lie of the Tiger"), Lou Dobbs, representatives of the Big Three auto companies, John Edwards, Mark Sanford ("What happens in Ar-gen-tina, should stay in Ar-gen-tina" to the tune of "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina"), Michael Jackson, the Clintons and Bushes, Obama and the cult of Oprah, all provided grist for the mill, and very grunny fist it was. Peter Hummers covers local entertainment on Outer Banks Onstage.
© 2009 Peter Hummers




Chapter 6 displays vocal virtuosity at Forum
BY PETER HUMMERS | SENTINEL STAFF

Chapter 6 sings 'Sweet, Sweet Spirit' without microphones. >From left, Aaron Stonecipher, Chuck Bosworth, John Musick, Brock Thornsbrough, Nathan Pufall and Jarrett Johnson. Not shown is arranger Mark Grizzard. (Peter Hummers | Sentinel) The musical group Chapter 6 demonstrated mastery of the first musical instrument in their show at the Outer Banks Forum Saturday - the human voice.

The a cappella outfit from Illinois dazzled the audience at the First Flight High School with an eclectic mix of music and musical styles, leavened by comedy and wit.

The musicians wasted no time in commencing the vocal fireworks, launching a jazzy uptempo version of Bob Thiele and George David Weiss' "What a Wonderful World" with a lot of fast dot-dot-dada's. Tenor Nathan Pufall sang the lead lyric, while Aaron Stonecipher, Chuck Bosworth, Brock Thornsbrough and Jarrett Johnson supplied the dot-da's.

The arrangement was dynamic and supported by John Musick's deep bass voice; through his microphone it had the weight of Dorothy Papadakos' giant theater-organ from the previous Forum show. The overall sound was very full but detailed, thanks to arranger Mark Grizzard, who was working the mixing board from the back of the house.

Subsequent numbers added the sound of a drum-kit to the mix: Stonecipher or Bosworth would use their lips, tongues and teeth to make percussion sounds that included bass-drum beats, snares and cymbals. At first it sounded as if someone were playing drums offstage, but one singer would tend to drum his fingers on his side; then one could see he wasn't singing in the traditional manner.

This was carried to new heights during their "Theme and Variations on 'It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing,'" in which they took the venerable Duke Ellington and Irving Mills classic through pop, jazz, rock, gospel, rhythm 'n' blues and classical styles - the rhythm 'n' blues variation featured a funk bass and drum sound that would have done James Brown proud. During the (soft) rock variation the lead rendered the lyric in a soupy James Taylor-ish vocal while the others sang soft guitar arpeggios. The tour de force, as advanced musically as anything that evening, previewed the wit that would be on display throughout the show.

They sang a few original numbers; the first, "There I Go," was about the faith that united them and informed their lives (they were, first, choir singers); it was inspired by the saying "There but for the grace of God, go I." Quiet and lovely, it featured a mighty hook in the refrain "There I go..."

Comedy returned with a song based on Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell's 1956 "Fever," called "Reverb," about an anachronistic performance of that song, which suffered from too much of that echo sound effect. Their performance combined actual reverb from the mixing board with simulated vocal reverb from the singers and passages where a singer harmonized with his own delayed voice. As always, the comedy was supported by incredible virtuosity.

And the group shifted gears easily. Marvin Gaye's genius was well-served with a sublime reading of his "Mercy, Mercy Me" in which Jarrett Johnson and the group absolutely glowed.

Eric Clapton's "If I Could Change the World" was given a Stevie Wonder-ish reading that highlighted the lyricism of the guitar-god's composition, with nary a guitar in sight.

A musical instrument was employed during the evening, though, with apologies. Mention was made of Chapter 6's unseen member, arranger Mark Grizzard at the mixing board. "He sings, too," the audience was told. "Would you like to hear him? Maybe you could encourage him, as he's shy..."

This was interrupted by a lanky fellow running down the aisle at full speed toward the stage, a fellow who reminded one of nerdy Robert Hoover in the movie "Animal House." He wore a sport jacket, crumpled chinos and untied running shoes. When Grizzard had gained the stage he strutted about and led the group in his own crazy composition, "The 7th Wheel," about going unrecognized in a six-piece a cappella group.

When it was revealed he played the piano, too, the Forum's Yamaha was dragged from the shadows and Grizzard led Chapter 6 through a fine 6-minute version of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." Grizzard played an abbreviated version of the original piano part and Chapter 6 sang the orchestration.

After Grizzard went back to his mixing board the band covered the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" and sang paeans to Folgers Coffee and Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and an acoustic (without microphones, "so you can see we're not lip-synching") hymn, Doris Akers' "Sweet Sweet Spirit."

The audience needed an encore, demonstrating it with a standing ovation. "We never play ovations - unless we're asked," said Musick, and the group sang a rousing "Jump, Jive and Wail." They wailed, all right.

Peter Hummers covers local entertainment on Outer Banks Onstage.
© 2009 Peter Hummers




Hunt Family kicks off Outer Banks Forum season
BY PETER HUMMERS | SENTINEL STAFF

The force of nature known as the Hunt Family Fiddlers descended on the Outer Banks Forum Saturday, singing, fiddling and step-dancing their way into the hearts of the audience at the First Flight High School.

Remarkable as it was to see a family of nine perform cohesively (the "kids" are aged 11 to 20), the real magic was in the uncommon excellence of the music, most of it original, and the performances.

The evening began with Jonathan, 16, sitting on a cajon (a box drum), father Clint on acoustic guitar, son Joshua, 17, on electric bass and daughter Jennifer, 20, on fiddle, assaying an atmospheric Irish air. Then three strikes from the cajun signaled the start of a lively jig, "Catharsis," which saw the other members of the family mount the stage, most carrying fiddles.

The multiple fiddlers weren't all just playing in unison with Jennifer - they added harmonies and overtones that drew the audience into the music, an effect emphasized with three-beat stop-time sections that echoed and amplified the chorus and introduced solos; finally most of the musicians were trading step-dancing turns with their accompaniment.

By the end of the number, Clint, Jonathan, Joshua and Jennifer had been joined by mother Sandy, violin, and Jessica, 20, guitar, violin and vocals, Jordan, 14, drums and electric guitar, Justin, 12, violin and vocals, and Jamison, 11, violin. All the kids played violin and step-danced, and the boys were either nationally- or world-ranked step dancers. All of the above talents were put to great use during the show, not to mention the music written by the kids.

Jennifer's song "Friend," written about the loneliness of months on the road, was a beautiful melancholic ballad backed by orchestral keyboard and violin work and a haunting chorus ("Where are you now?") that in later iterations was lifted by some lovely vocal harmonies.

Jessica's "Apple Tree" started as a slightly goofy celebratory country anthem, as might have been enjoyed by the Clarence White-era Byrds, which was completely infectious, and through the joyous performance and lyric focus from the local ("I'm back singing by the apple tree") to the cosmic ("Sun shine down, and world spin around"), pretty profound.

Classic-rock lover Jonathan's "Crazy Fingers" was an instrumental rock piano showcase (think Edgar Winter meets the Dregs) that enlisted more than his own crazy fingers - there was space for some dazzling solos from guitars and violins.

The twins sang a beautiful arrangement of the traditional spiritual "I'll Fly Away," backed by Clint's subdued electric-guitar drone. The girls must have been harmonizing together for 20 years.

Joshua sang "The Story," a full-bore power ballad, and pulled off a fine electric-guitar solo, backed by the whole rockin' family and especially Jordan on drums and his sisters on vocals.

Jennifer's "Hearts Held High" (also the name of their latest CD) was a collaboration: she went to her brothers for some help in one of the sections and their suggestions turned her traditional Gaelic ballad into a piece of nautical art-rock with discrete sections that would have done Procol Harum proud. All of the original music was laden with memorable hooks that would embed it in the audience's psyches and require the purchase of the band's CDs to maintain steady doses of said music.

There were bouts of step-dancing, including the three eldest boys under black light ("Thunder"), which made it appear for a while that three neckties, six drumsticks and six shoes were dancing in space, and an exhibition of mass fiddling: all the kids lined up and each bowed the fiddle being held and fingered by the sibling to their left.

The audience fell hard for the talented musical family. Their websitefeatures a tantalizing selections of audio and video downloads to whet your appetite.

Peter Hummers covers local entertainment on Outer Banks Onstage.
© 2009 Peter Hummers




Virginia Symphony puts the Frosting on Tasty Forum Season
BY PETER HUMMERS | SENTINEL STAFF
As the last of the audience trickled into the First Flight High School auditorium Sunday to the raucous tuning of the Virginia Symphony orchestra, John Tucker stood patiently at the microphone to announce the final show of the 2008-2009 Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts concert season.

A technician peeked out from the wings looking for the Forum president's high sign, after which he waved his hand down and the orchestra fell silent.

After very short remarks in which he acknowledged the sole sponsor of the evening's performance, Outer Banks Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, Tucker announced the orchestra and the afternoon's conductor, Matthew Kraemer.

Concertmaster Vahn Armstrong touched up the orchestra's fine-tuning with an A from his violin and Maestro Kraemer, who conducted the orchestra here last year, came onstage. The musicians laid down the opening bars of Rossini's Barber of Seville Overture gently, the cellos and basses plucking out a pizzicato beat that anchored the music solidly. Kraemer's conducting was meticulous and the musicians kept tightly to the groove, negotiating a tricky section near the end especially nimbly.

The Act III Intermezzo from Puccini's opera Manon Lescault began dreamily with a cello followed by some strings, all clear as a bell. The stately entrance of the rest of the orchestra was quite moving and when the bowed basses joined in, the piece took on an air of inevitability, like the turning of the seasons. Tympani brought a spell of thunder and flutes heralded the return of the pastoral scenery. (Outside, unbeknownst to the assembled company, it rained.)

Soprano Rachel Holland came onstage to sing "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, a very well-known aria that she handled movingly, with a delicate accompaniment from the orchestra. How nice it was to hear during the evening a beautiful human voice.

A kinetic West Side Story medley enlivened by castanets came next, including a bossa-nova treatment of "Tonight," which, if nothing else, provided a tour-de-force for the orchestra. (Neither gang in "West Side Story" was Brazilian, right?)

Jacques Offenbach provided the next selection, the overture to his 1858 operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, which featured an otherworldly bassoon, velvety strings and a shimmering harp. Concertmaster Armstrong showed beautiful notation on a pivotal solo that led to a familiar violin aria, and a delicate transition finally opened the floodgates on the risqué galop infernal, known familiarly as the "Can-Can."

After the intermission the musicians began the dark and foreboding "Suite No. 1" from Bizet's Carmen, an exotic evocation of Spain (a contemporary European fad) from the French composer.

A special joy was the "Evening Prayer" from Richard Wagner's acolyte Engelbert Humperdinck, which in the hands of the Virginia Symphony was a quiet and contemplative piece of rare beauty, in the style of Wagner's own "Siegfried Idyll."

A popular and nonetheless very well-played medley from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera paved the way for selections from an opera by the master, George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, the likes of which they just weren't writing in 1986. The thrilling music was rewarded with an honest standing ovation, which Kramer cut short by leading his musicians through John Philip Sousa's great "Stars and Stripes Forever." The audience didn't need his encouragement to clap along for as long as they could; after that the applause ran rampant.

Peter Hummers covers local entertainment on Outer Banks Onstage.
© 2009 Peter Hummers



New Legends Assert Themselves at Outer Banks Forum
BY PETER HUMMERS | SENTINEL STAFF
The New Legends Big Band brought a "Tribute to Lawrence Welk" to the First Flight High School Saturday and had the audience dancing in the aisles. Featuring Bob Havens, late of the Lawrence Welk Orchestra, on trombone, Ramon Kenan on trumpet, with Musical Director Don Martin on clarinet, they pushed the right buttons.

The rains that have followed recent Forum concerts were especially intense Saturday; a downpour accompanied those few that braved them to the show, but the rain had to wait outside.

As the audience shook themselves and took advantage of adjacent empty seats to lay down their slickers and umbrellas, John Tucker had the ushers clear the folding chairs from the front of the house.

He went on, "And now, by the power invested in me by the Outer Banks Forum, I decare that this night is Sadie Hawkins Night, and I am Li'l Abner.

"On Sadie Hawkins Day, the ladies invite the gentlemen to dance. And I would invite you during the course of the evening, if the spirit moves you, we have cleared the front before the stage, and encourage you, to do what the spirit moves you to do."

The musicians, who had been taking their seats onstage, began Glenn Miller's "Little Brown Jug," settling into their parts gradually, but taking a good hold of the complex arrangement by the second verse. The audience began to shake off the weather as the band interspersed solos with harmony passages.

Don Martin took the mic, and referring to "current conflicts," mentioned that he was raised in Wichita, Kansas ... but lived in North Carolina for 35 years, making him more of a tarheel. (The Tarheels would lose that evening 84-66 to Kansas in the NCAA basketball semifinals.)

Martin introduced Bob Havens, who recounted Lawrence Welk anecdotes during the evening. The invariably smiling aspect of Welk's band was due to the instructions they received from the boss: Look like you're having fun ... but don't have any!

Like Lawrence Welk, the New Legends had a dance couple: a pair of seventy-year-olds who showed their stuff during a jitterbuggy second number and danced during the evening, onstage or before it, with audience members whom the spirits had moved.

To add a contemporary touch well, almost contemporary the Legends played a funk number worthy of Shaft, complete with wah-wah guitar and a 1-2 beat "to show we're not totally squaresville. Lawrence would play a funk tune now and then ... he even dressed up as a hippy on one of his shows."

The Legends showed a wealth of talent and some deep resumes. Besides his time with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra, Havens has played with Al Hirt and Pete Fountain in New Orleans; he took some fine solos during the set and sang Fletcher Henderson's "Roll On Mississippi Roll On." Later he played "Tiger Rag" with one hand behind his back, moving the trombone slide back and forth by bending over and pushing it against the floor. Then he lay on his back and worked the slide with his foot.

One of the evening's memorable moments was supplied by trumpeter Ramon Kenan. A member of the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, he has written a symphony, and a show in which he stars as Louis Armstrong. From that show, he performed Sam Cooke, Lou Adler and Herb Alpert's "What a Wonderful World" as Satchmo.

The band's tenor sax player took the part of the featured tenor vocalist, another Welk position, by singing "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" and "Oklahoma." He received a standing ovation for his performance of the aria "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's opera Turandot.

Perhaps the jewel of the evening was Glenn Miller's beautiful signature, "Moonlight Serenade," which fulfilled the expectations that arose when Martin announced it. The lighting techs flooded the stage with "moonlight" and the audience was transported to a magical place.

Back in Kill Devil Hills, after the aforementioned "Tiger Rag," the audience jumped to their feet. Don Martin leaned into the mic and said, "Well, that's all we got. Good night, folks!" The audience would have none of it, and the band, which had really started to pack up, ambled back to their seats for an encore, "Has Anybody Seen My Gal?" after which the happy audience went back out into the rain.

Peter Hummers covers entertainment on, and about, the Outer Banks at www.obxonstage.com. © 2008 Peter Hummers



Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts Announces 2005-06 Season
Special Program to Feature the Virginia Symphony
Marcia Ball, singer and pianist known for deeply emotional southern boogie, rollicking, roadhouse blues and heartfelt ballads, will open the 23rd spectacular Outer Banks Forum performing arts series, according to John H. Tucker, president of the Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts.

This year the lineup will include an extra evening of special entertainment featuring The Virginia Symphony on Sat., March 11, 2006. Conducted by nationally acclaimed JoAnn Falletta, this exceptional program will highlight "Turkish Delights", including Overture to The Turk in Italy, Mozart"s" Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219, "Turkish", and Stravinsky"s Pulcinella Suite. This program is being sponsored by Outer Banks Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep.

With more than 140 classical, pops, family and educational performances each season, the Virginia Symphony has time and again been recognized for its national caliber of excellence. Hampton Roads has the unique distinction of serving as home to the acclaimed orchestra, which includes over 70 professional musicians and over 60 glorious voices in the Virginia Symphony Chorus.

Founded in 1920, the Virginia Symphony has served the communities of Hampton Roads for seven decades and has grown into a fully professional ensemble recognized as one of the nation"s leading regional symphony orchestras.

Last season, Virginia Symphony celebrated its 10th season under the leadership of Maestro Falletta, winner of the Stokowski, Toscanini and Bruno Walter awards for excellence. Ms. Falletta is also the recipient of the 2002 Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductor"s Award. Under her direction, the orchestra has risen to celebrated artistic highs and routinely enjoys the accolades of audience and media alike. In August, 2000, Virginia Symphony was accepted into the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians, officially entering the "major league" of symphony orchestras and joining the ranks of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Recent great achievements for Virginia Symphony under the baton of Maestro Falletta include a performance of Peter and the Wolf which was aired on National Public Radio, and a groundbreaking performance at the Kennedy Center in January 2000. In April 1997, Virginia Symphony enjoyed another landmark accomplishment when it debuted at New York"s Carnegie Hall to critical acclaim.

The regular Outer Banks Forum performing arts series will focus on an array of outstanding musical programs including:

Christopher Kypros - Sat., Nov. 12, 2005
The concert tour of this Norfolk native and Julliard graduate features both well known and more obscure classics performed on the very special piano donated during The Great Piano Project. This program is dedicated to the memory of Judy McCarthy and Peggy Shea.

Snake Oil Medicine Show " Sat., Jan. 14, 2006
This multi-media experience channels super positive energy into live performance of music and art, mixing electrifying acoustic flim-flam rassAmatazz and a tasty blend of musical styles, dance rhythms, visual stimulation and costumed revelers.

African American Dance Ensemble - Sat., Feb. 18, 2006
Enjoy a memorable night of dramatic staging, exciting rhythms, masterful choreography and colorful costumes as The Ensemble promotes positive social change and reinforces the best of human values (peace, love and respect).

Nnenna Freelon - Sat., March 4, 2006
Delight in an unforgettable evening with this jazz recording artist who is celebrating her 10th year. Nominated for five Grammy Awards, her last release Soulcall, which she also produced, earned her fourth and fifth Grammy nominations for "Best Jazz Vocal Performance" and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying A Vocal."

Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Sat., April 1, 2006
Savor a night with the originators of New Orleans Jazz who carry the tradition worldwide. This jazz started in the early part of the century and is not to be confused with the two-beat Dixieland style. The tempo is a shade slower and the melody is always clearly heard with improvisation at its heart. Its greatness lies in its simplicity.

All programs will be held at the First Flight High School in Kill Devil Hills, beginning at 7:30 p.m.



Feminism comes down home to roost with 'Girls'
BY PETER HUMMERS, SENTINEL STAFF
At the back of the stage was a trellised front porch, under which might be kept gardening implements-or a surfboard, a sunfish-or all of the above. There might be a case of Pepsi-Cola, or even Jack Daniels under there. It's too hard to tell from outside what-all is under a porch.

As the audience in the Kitty Hawk Elementary School studied the guitars, drums and other instruments set on the porch, a commotion arose from the doors to the gymnasium, and a group of women burst in, as if they had just put in a hard shift at the plant and were bent on liberating a bowling alley.

After greeting audience members loudly and familiarly, they collected on the stage. In front of the porch were six folding chairs, three floor microphones and another guitar on a stand.

The women were of all shapes and sizes, and quite attractive. They swarmed around brave Bill Teague of the Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts as he thanked the friends of the Forum and the underwriters of the evening's performance, Albemarle Eye Center, Regional Medical Center and Mollie Fearing & Associates, and greeted their representatives.

Jodi Beck, Amanda Blackburn, Bianca Carragher, Julie Oliver, Katherine Rogers and Meme Simmons were dressed casually, as women might dress to shop for groceries anywhere from Manhattan to Manteo. There was no big hair tonight, although they expressed their willingness to wear it, and a philosophy of it, to wit, with your hair piled up you feel closer to God.

The front porch had filled with musicians, who were prepared for an evening of pickin' and plenty of grinnin'. Nathan Logan, Pete Lucey, Don Raleigh, Byron Settle and Mark Simonson wielded drums, piano, an upright bass and guitars respectively.

The women began to talk and sing, alone, in pairs, in groups; at times the whole ensemble stood at the mics. Their funny, tragic stories concerned living as females in the South, but they were ecumenical stories in that northerners and other foreigners could understand, empathise and laugh along, too.

The tales were adapted from the stories of Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle, punctuated by the songs of Matraca Berg and Marshall Chapman. They encompassed everything from black eyes in Johnson City to revenge fantasies dreamed in BMWs driving around the New South.

But there was an appreciation of all that makes life wonderful, too, from perfect mates to the glory of childbirth, dissaproving mamas notwithstanding.

The other end of life was also covered. "When the kids are gone, they're gone like fog from the mountain." A woman, with her younger self, complains in a nursing home, and a beautician has to make up the corpse of her mother.

The music ranged from Applachian-style ballads to blues, country and even a little calypso: all the music of the South. The expert performances were full of space and light.

The ensemble went from strength to strength; the stories were marvelous, and the music was terrific. These strong, emblematic women reprised the first songs of the two acts, "Good Ol' Girl" and "All I Want is Everything," for the raucous end of the show, but this time the audience was on their feet.





Outer Banks Forum Kicks Off Annual Campaign
Headed by Development Director Emily Berry-Belvin, the Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts has embarked upon its major annual campaign. "The goal of this year's campaign is $64,500, and we need the support of the Dare County community if we intend to reach this target," said Berry-Belvin. The Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts is moving into its 21st season, and remains committed to bringing internationally acclaimed performers to the Outer Banks. Last season, performers such as the Allison Brown Quartet, and Habana Sax helped to wow over 4,000 guests and spring into life the Forum's mission by sharing the sounds of various genres with the Outer Banks. The 2003-2004 season is filled with seven high-quality performers, including the Grammy award winning mandolin player, Sam Bush. In addition, the Forum will celebrate the First Flight Centennial by presenting Jim Walker & Free Flight (currently the most talked-about group on the contemporary jazz scene), and has entered into a partnership with the Dare County Arts Council to present performance poet Glenis Redmond during the first county-wide celebration of Black History month. Realizing that the arts enrich the lives of those who are given exposure to them, the Forum also sponsors performances in local schools to create an early appreciation of the arts among children, and gives an annual $1500 scholarship to a graduating senior who wishes to pursue an education in the arts. "As you can see, the Forum is much more than six great shows a year," continued Berry-Belvin, "it is an enduring grassroots community organization dedicated to encouraging an appreciation of the arts, and enriching the lives of local residents. The generous support of the entire community, both business and private, has sustained us for twenty years, and this continued support is vital to ensuring that affordable performance arts shows remain available to all residents."

Outer Banks Sentinel, Aug. 1, 2003



Forum Growth Opening New Opportunities, Audiences
Twenty years ago, the Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts started as a low-budget neighborhood organization that brought local talent to its makeshift stage. Now the Forum attracts national and international performers. The upcoming season is set to start with a fusion of bluegrass, jazz and Latin elements performed by the Grammy Award-winning Alison Brown Quartet at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7. That show will be followed by five others, including the musical act 1964, which will present a tribute to the Beatles on Oct. 6. All performances will be at the Kitty Hawk Elementary School.

Most Forum organizers agree that the volunteer-powered group has persevered and grown because of unusual determination and patience.

"It unique to have a group do this sort of thing and sustain it for 20 years," said Connie Brothers, Forum director of development. "We are just people who give some of our time to this and care a lot about it. There are people running up and down the beach distributing tickets, getting programs, making sure there are flowers, directions and playbills. We are trying to keep up with the times."

In its early days, the Forum catered to an older crowd. But now it is working to reach a younger audience.

Brothers said that the shift was a result of an overall mission conceived by Forum volunteers during a strategic-planning session last year.

"I think the goal is to see our audiences grow, continue to be funded by the businesses ... establishing partnerships with [other arts organizations and] being able to bring other types of art here," said Sue Meyer, who is in charge of attracting performers.

Building larger audiences requires more variety, which Brothers said was a gamble for the volunteer group.

The crux of that mission is moving away from the Forum's traditional classical-music offerings into jazz, comedy theatre, country-western music and other things.

"You are always hoping you made the right choice, and it seems we have," Brothers said.

"We believe the performing arts are for everybody. We believe the same music can excite a 7-year-old and a 70-year-old, like me."

After ending the first season of its three-year strategic plan, Brothers said that Forum volunteers seem to be on the right track even though one of the primary stumbling blocks is trying to find acts that satisfy every age group.

"It's always guessing. If we get this, can we pay that?" Brothers said.

"We win some, we lose some. But it's the best bargain in town," she said, adding that the cost of the $45 season ticket breaks down to roughly $7 per show.

Admittedly, Meyer added, this sort of fine-tuning has increased the need to do more than merely guess. They have conducted research by reading trade publications, using results of patron questionnaires, joining the North Carolina Presenters Consortium and consulting with others in the business to bring bigger names and more variety to the stage.

Climbing attendance is evidence that these methods are working, Meyer said.

But ultimately, bringing these performances to the area doesn't happen without local financial support.

"We've gotten together a budget to try to meet the costs," said Forum President Vic James, a volunteer since 1994.

This year, the budget anticipates a total income of $60,100. Of that amount, $33,750 will pay performers and $10,200 is set aside for general administration and other costs associated with fund-raising. Advertising, which concentrates on local audiences, is budgeted for $7,000.

"We've come along way. It was started by Charles Hermann and a few volunteers who started out with no money trying to bring culture to the Outer Banks," said Peggy Shea, whose 10 years of service have earned her the title of president emeritus.

"We used local talent and charged a very low price at the door. We started at the then-KHES [Kitty Hawk Elementary School] cafeteria. Volunteers would house and feed performers. Over the years, we have evolved to bringing outstanding artists to entertain people here," Shea said.

After the Forum endured a variety of growing pains, Shea said, "the bar has been raised."

"We are in a position [that] we can bring [performers] in from all over," she said. "Last year, we brought them in from Ireland, California and Texas."

Shea said that the number of performances has averaged about six a year for as long as she can remember. And that number won't likely change unless the venue does. Scheduling and space constraints limit performances mainly to musical acts because of the school gymnasium's limited stage and poor acoustics.

The blessing of audience growth also brings the added worry of future coping with the constraints of the performing space.

"We did want to have a larger auditorium with the new high school going up. Maybe one day we will have a performing arts center," Shea said.

But all in all, volunteers are thankful for the space they have, and Shea said that the Forum has a "wonderful relationship with the schools" and looks forward to nurturing what has become a fruitful partnership into the future.

"We are looking for the biggest season we've ever had," James said, adding that this season's performances are a mix of the old and new to pay homage to the Forum's milestone.

Outer Banks Sentinel, Aug. 31, 2002

Click here to download our membership form (.pdf)