AGELESS NORTH SHORE » Music

“Every song is a picnic.” A benefit for the Rustic Falls Nature Camp

Don — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:00:44 +0000

While tromping through the woods in southeast Wisconsin looking for a good place to fish, angler and baritone Warren Fremling heard the pounding of hammers. Fremling, choir director at Congregation Solel in Highland Park and a garrulous soul struck up a conversation with Eric Lentz. Lentz is the co-founder along with his wife Deanna Hallagan of the Rustic Falls Nature Camp, a place where at-risk and special needs kids as well as cancer survivors can get out of town and into nature.

Fremling wanted to help. He organized a concert with some of his pals.

On Sunday, April 18, 2010, 4:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Deerfield, IL, Rick Neeley, Small Potatoes and Warren Fremling will be presenting a benefit concert for the Rustic Falls Nature Camp.

Rick Neeley has been playing folk music in the area for four decades. His banjo picking and 12 string guitar playing hearkens back to the great old folkie days of the 60′s. Neeley is not only a fine musician but a very engaging performer.

“He has a relaxed rapport with his audience and a pocket full of great songs and stories. And make no mistake when Rick entertains the audience is his.”
. . . The World Folk Music Company

The duo of Jacquie Manning and Rich Prezioso make up Small Potatoes. Manning and Prezioso describe their music as “Celtic to Cowboy” They both sing, they both play guitars and an array of other instruments. They even yodel. “They don’t sound like anybody else. I like that. They lay out a blanket and every song is a picnic.” Warren Nelson Big Top Chautauqua/Tent Show Radio–Wisconsin Public Radio, Bayfield, WI

Small Potatoes

The classically trained Fremling began his career as a folk singer roughly “10,000 years ago.” You can preview Fremling’s CD, Dancin’ With the One Who Brought Me, at cdbaby.com. We wrote at the time of its release, “Listening to Warren Fremling singing folk songs is a pleasant antidote to the harsh screeching of the today’s media. It reminds me that there have always been struggles, tears, joys and love and that we have always been uplifted by our creative spirit.”

Creating a nature camp had long been a dream for Lentz and Hallagan. Here is what Lentz says about the Rustic Falls Nature Camp.

In June of 2005, our lives took an unexpected turn. I was diagnosed with colon cancer. My priorities became my family, my health and working toward a future. Rustic Falls could no longer be a dream. I am determined to make it a reality.

In September of 2006 we were fortunate enough to purchase a portion of an abandoned dairy farm. It is an ideal location for the development of our camp. I have spent the four years clearing and developing this property. We have put in trails that run through a pine forest. The view over the marsh land will be spectacular. We hope Rustic Falls Nature Camp will offer a place that will enrich all who come through its door.

This is a great cause and great bill. Tickets for the benefit are just $20.00 for adults, $15.00 for kids 18 and under. If you can’t be there but would like to contribute, you may contribute to: Rustic Falls Nature Camp, 8044 Karlov Ave., Skokie, IL 60076, Phone: (847) 763-2100, Email: rusticfalls@yahoo.com

Making Harmonic Connections: the Orion Ensemble

Don — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:50:58 +0000

The Orion Ensemble

Chamber music is known as the “music of friends.” The first publicized season of the Orion ensemble was in 1993-94. Kathryne Pirtle (clarinet), Florentina Ramniceanu (violin), Diana Schmück (piano), Judy Stone (cello) and Jennifer Marlas (viola), That is clearly a lot of friendship.

Listening to a chamber music concert is a refreshing harmonic interlude in an often disconcerting world. Spending a couple of Sunday hours with Chicago’s award-winning Orion Ensemble might delude you into thinking the world is a place of beauty and the passion of dedicated artists (instead of the messy discordant place we know it really is).

On Sunday, March 28 at Evanston’s Nichols Hall, Ageless enjoyed the Orion Ensemble as they performed the third concert program of its 2009–10 season; Robert Kritz’s “Connections,” written expressly for Orion, along with works by Baermann and Tchaikovsky.

This year’s season-long theme of the Orion Ensemble is “Musical Connections.” Connections for Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello and Piano written by Kritz in 2001 is the season’s inspiration. Mr. Kritz was in attendance at the Sunday concert, where he spoke briefly about his desire to understand the cosmic connections of the universe, an ambition he was only able to address through his music.

The three movements of Kritz’s piece are connected by a recurring motif, very much in the style of the late 19th century. Within this traditional structure, Kritz infuses a jazz-influenced sound and challenges the Orion Ensemble to be at the top of their game. Kritz’s reaction to Orion Sunday clearly expressed his appreciation of their spot-on performance of Connections.

Heinrich Who?
Alright, we admit it. We’d never heard of Heinrich Baermann before Sunday’s concert. It turns out Baerman was the Benny Goodman of his time. He played a mean clarinet. His composition Quartet in B-Flat Major for Clarinet, Violin, Viola and Cello, Op. 18 suited Kathryne Pirtle’s clarinets warm, expressive tone.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the Trio in A Minor, Op. 50, for Violin, Cello and Piano as a memorial to his mentor and friend Nikolai Rubinstein, premiering it on the first anniversary of Rubinstein’s death in 1882. The sweetness and depth of Tchaikovsky, the best known Russian Romantic composer, echoed throughout the concert hall.

You have a chance to experience this program when the Orion Ensemble performs Wednesday, March 31, in Roosevelt University’s Ganz Hall in Chicago.

Brahms on Mother’s Day
Orion’s 2009–10 season concludes with an all-Brahms program, featuring special guest CSO violinist Baird Dodge, in May and June. Take mom out to the Sunday afternoon program at Nichols Hall on Mother’s Day, May 9 at 3pm. How perfect is that?
In addition to its annual four-concert series in three communities, the Orion Ensemble also tours, performing in chamber music concerts and series across the country. Its most recent CD is Twilight of the Romantics.

“Lena Horne and Friends”: Ava Logan@The Skokie Theatre

Don — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:00:21 +0000

“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” Lena Horne

Ava Logan

Imagine an evening of songs that have been performed by Lena Horne and Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Etta James, Anita Day, Johnny Frigo among others. Then imagine internationally known vocalist (and Chicago resident) Ava Logan singing at one of the premiere listening rooms on the North Shore. It will all be there when the Skokie Theatre presents “Lena Horne and Friends” on Saturday, March 20 at 8 p.m.

Besides being an extraordinary singer and actress, Lena Horne was a transformational figure in the movement for civil rights. At the age of 16 in 1933, Horne joined the chorus line of the famed Cotton Club in New York City. During a club engagement in Hollywood, talent agents caught her act and Horne signed a long-term contract with MGM; the first African American performer to do.

Lorne is perhaps best known on film for her performance of Stormy Weather, in the 1943 film of the same name. Ironically, Horne’s career became increasingly stormy in the 40s and 50s. In the late 1940s Horne sued a number of restaurants and theaters for race discrimination and became politically allied with Paul Robeson in the Progressive Citizens of America, a leftist group combating racism. This landed Horne on the “black list” and kept her from working in radio, television, films, and recordings until the late 1950s.

This did not stop Horne from becoming one of the most sought after night club performers on the post WWII era, appearing in such Chicago hot spots as the Chez Paree, Mr Kelly’s, and the Regal Theatre on 47th St.

After the anti-Communist hysteria loosened its grip on the country, Horne’s career blossomed on Broadway as well as the electronic media of the day.

Lena (Schomburg Center for Research)

Horne’s courage and talent earned her Lifetime Achievement Awards in both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Grammy’s as well as being represented on the Civil Rights Walk of Fame in Atlanta.

About Ava Logan, Neil Tesser wrote (Logan is) “a fresh breath of old-school glamour, bringing sass and swing to the classic singer’s repertoire while retaining the swanky class this material deserves.” Logan (or should say Dr. Logan as Ava is a working veterinarian) is a classically trained vocalist who has performed jazz, pop, and rhythm and blues in the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Logan has portrayed two of her idols, Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson, at the Black Ensemble Theater.

If hearing such tunes as Stormy Weather, Wild is the Wind , Detour Ahead and At Last by this superb interpreter of the genre sounds like an evening well spent, check out Lena Horne at Friends. Click here for tickets.

Here is a video of Ava Logan performing at the Skokie Theatre…

An Ageless interview: Andrea McArdle on the road since 1977

Don — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:07 +0000

Novelist Amy Shearn authored today’s post.

(UPDATE: This show has been postponed until Sunday, May 16th at 2:30 PM)
At the Wilmette Theatre, North Shore residents and beyond will have an opportunity that would make seven-year-old me shriek with joy. No, it’s not a pet unicorn or a canopy bed: it’s a performance by the talented show business veteran Andrea McArdle, who created the role of Annie in the Broadway musical Annie in 1977.

Andrea McArdle

Andrea was kind enough to chat with me recently about her upcoming performance, her illustrious career in show business, and a certain spunky orphan named Annie.

AS: Okay, I’m sorry, you’re probably tired of talking about “Annie”…

AM: (laughing) I’ve made my peace with it. During the whole thing I was not that fun to deal with. It’s just so different when you’re in it.

AS: I was obsessed with “Annie” as a kid.

AM: I always meet gay guys who are like, “The red album! The red album!” [The original Broadway cast recording]

"The Red Album"

AS: Exactly. I read that you were pulled from the chorus of orphans to play Annie on Broadway.

AM: I was the toughest orphan. The only reason they never considered me for Annie was that I wasn’t a redhead. I was on the soap opera “Search for Tomorrow” and I was contracted with long brown hair. Then they realized not to look for what’s outside — you could dye hair or wear a wig, not that my mother would have let me dye my hair — but to look for the soul of the character, and I got the role.

AS: What was it like to be cast as Annie?

Reid Shelton, Andrea McArdle and Sandy

AM: The show wasn’t a hit then. To me, I treated it the same way I treated the school play — I didn’t really see the difference between that and Broadway. I had no idea what a Tony award was. When I was nominated for one I was like, “Oh, cool.” It was just another gig.

I have great parents. I was always the daughter before a commodity. I was a gymnast before theatre and it was just like that — being part of a team. Afterwards, it became a hit. When it hit we knew we were the toast of the town. It could have been terrible, but like I said, I had great parents.

AS: What was it like being a child star?

AM: I’m lucky that it wasn’t television, which uses you up and spits you out. You know, sometimes I’m still waiting for my “Norma Rae” role and think it just hasn’t happened yet. (laughs.) After “Annie,” I had offers to go on sitcoms but they were all terrible and luckily we knew better. It would have had a horrible outcome, just trashed my reputation. They didn’t know what do with kids when I was hot.

Today they have the Disney channel, I would have had my own show, a whole franchise. But then, American Broadway was dying — it was the beginning of the British Invasion and all major producers were on their last legs. There were really no projects around, so we just didn’t get to ride the momentum. That’s why it’s nice to also be a singer. It was hard to cast me — I looked like an eight-year-old boy until I was eighteen and then suddenly grew up one summer — so no one knew what to do with me.

AS: You appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and performed with Liberace. What was that like?

Liberace (photo from liberace.org)

AM: It was amazing. I wasn’t phased. I did the Carson show three times. I played Judy Garland in the movie Rainbow on NBC and Liberace saw it. I was in school writing a paper on JFK and got a call to go to Las Vegas. Liberace gave me my sweet 16 party, which was wrong on so many levels, but great.

AS: What do you think of contemporary child stars?

AM: Ugh, so many of them are puppets for sick parents. It’s so different from getting into business because a child has talent. I feel horrible for them; I would never want to grouped into the child star group.

AS: Do you ever get tired of being Annie?

AM: Well, sometimes I think the Annie thing has held me back. If I had arrived on scene at 18 or 19 it would been better — you can’t be an adolescent girl in mary janes and a red dress forever. But I wouldn’t change a thing.

AS: What were some of your favorite roles?

AM:I got to play Belle in “Beauty and the Beast.” I was 37, and I was surprised they were calling me. I thought they were calling me for Mrs. Potts and I was like, Mmm, I don’t know if I’m ready to play a teapot. But I loved playing Belle. My daughter was 12, and it was great to be in something she was so in to. I think that’s the best Disney story, too. It’s not just for kids. It has universal appeal.

I loved played Sally Bowles — it’s really fun to play a bad girl.

AS: Many Ageless North Shore readers are redefining or reevaluating their lives and careers at midlife. How have you managed to maintain such an active career in a field notoriously interested in youth?

Andrea at New York's Metropolitan Room. (photo by Richard Termine )

AM: Well, you know, I’m in a period of crossroads. I’ve been mature enough to play mothers for almost a quarter of a century. This business owes us nothing. Who wants to wait two years to sing two great songs in a show? That’s why cabaret is so incredibly appealing. No one wants to see, you know, a “seasoned” 17-year-old sing cabaret. It took me years to feel comfortable with cabaret; it’s easier to sing for 6000 people than for 60. You have to deal with the people and their energy…but once you face it, it’s liberating.

Now I have so many great stories and I can chat with the audience. It’s a live version of what a book would be, but it’s all off the top my head. I’ve had a lot of funny experiences! Who else performs for the queen at 13? I mean, Catherine Zeta Jones was my Molly in London. No one could pronounce her name — we called her Zeetie. It’s just interesting to see where everybody ends up.

My story is a success story — theater is what I love. I was lucky. Now you have to go and do tv just to get the roles you want. Since Broadway went corporate it’s just such a machine. It changed everything. It’s all marketing. I mean, when you see reality tv show stars getting roles…it’s tough. But in theater,you do it for the love of it. And I love what I do.

For tickets to an “Evening of Song, ANDREA MCARDLE with Doug Peck on the piano”, Monday March 15 at 7:30 click here.

__________________
Amy Shearn is the author of How Far Is the Ocean from Here. Her work has appeared in Jane, West Branch, Salt Hill, and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn with a husband, a baby and a dog. Visit her online at amyshearn.com.

MIC in Evanston Making Tracks: A look ahead and a look back

Don — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:04:49 +0000

Chinese Laborer, 1885

The final program of the Music Institute of Chicago’s excellent series “From all Sides: Paving the Way to America’s Cultural Identity takes place on Sunday, January 24.

This chapter concentrates on the Chinese role in the building of the Transcontinental Railroad and how Eastern tradition influenced culture on the West Coast.

At 4:00 PM, the guest speaker is David Haward Bain, award-winning author of Empire Express and The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West. In Empire Express, Bain examines the impact of the railroad on the Plains Indians, whose traditional way of life was eradicated by the line. He also deals knowledgeably with the imported Chinese workers, the “Celestials,” who were unsurpassed in their tenacity and work ethic.

For the Old Iron Road, the journey is a more personal narrative. Bain takes his family on a 7,000 miles circuitous journey from Vermont to California visiting sites historical of national and personal history.

There is a concert at 5:00 pm featuring 19th century railroad songs from California, selections from Chinese Opera, and Jon Jang: Island Immigrant Suite No. 2

The film Transcontinental Railroad will be screened at 6:30. Part of the acclaimed American Experience series, this film documents the story of the conception, design, construction and consequence of the enterprise that literally united as well as redefined America.

The entire program is free, and takes place in the beautiful Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago in Evanston.

The Brotherhood Chorales Remembers Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Brotherhood Chorale at Nichols Hall

On January 17, The Brotherhood Chorale of the Apostolic Church brought their “good news” in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the MIC for the sixth consecutive year. The standing room only crowd was rewarded with an inspired performance by the 150+ voices of the Chorale and their charismatic & passionate conductor, Brian C. Rice.

The performance began with a rousing rendition of How Great is Our God, a contemporary Christian worship song. Soloist Darrell Loving, backed by piano, percussion, keyboard, and a full horn section along with Brotherhood Chorale rocked the MIC with this 2004 Chris Tomlin composition.

Soloists Adam Cowan, Kiel Williams and the Chorale provided a tender and moving version of Silent Night. During the Christmas season, this song often blends into the mix of carols and holiday music. On this night as our thoughts turned to the struggle of Dr. King and the devastation in Haiti, the words “All is Calm, All is Bright” sounded like a prayer. And from the crowd, the cry of a baby seemed to belong in the piece.

Bishop Arthur M. Brazier, who served for forty-eight years as pastor of the Apostolic Church of God and continues on as Pastor Emeritus, spoke about his very personal connection with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Bishop recalled Dr. King preaching from the pulpit of the Apostolic Church of God in the 1960s. Bishop Brazier reminded us all that Dr. King “changed the face of America” and if there had been no Martin Luther King, there would not have been a Barack Obama.

Conductor Rice dedicated the performance of Grace to Bishop Brazier and his wife, Sister Isabelle H. Brazier; making special mention of Sister Brazier’s contribution to the music program of the church, including a Suzuki string program co-sponsored by the MIC.

Sherry Loving performs an interpretive dance

Kiel Williams entranced the audience with his solo I’ll Walk with God. Sherry Loving performed an interpretive jazz/ballet to tune I Can Only Imagine. And soloist Jerome Anderson brought the joyful noise to Daryl Coley’s gospel tune, Bless Your Name, and audience (or at that point, the congregation) stood up and clapped along with the Chorale.

2009 admitted soloist Charles Adams was not the best year, but he declared that in 2010, “we’ll stomp on the devil’s ear.” And the stomping commenced with Take it Back which featured the full band, a thumping bass and some old school soul moves by Adams, Demetrius Chatman, and Conductor Rice.

We sat in the balcony and could hear the sounds of the Brother Chorale as they rose higher and seemed to pass through the domed ceiling of Evanston’s MIC into the January night.

Brian C. Rice, Conductor, with the Brotherhood Choral