{"id":28155,"date":"2018-04-14T08:09:55","date_gmt":"2018-04-14T12:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=28155"},"modified":"2018-04-14T08:09:59","modified_gmt":"2018-04-14T12:09:59","slug":"on-stage-beethoven-and-bellinis-in-kennett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=28155","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Beethoven and Bellinis in Kennett"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>If you\u2019re a fan of classical music \u2013 or if you\u2019d like to get some exposure to it to see if you like it \u2013 you\u2019re in luck this weekend.<\/p>\n

On April 14, the Serafin String Quartet is performing a show in Philadelphia that is both interesting and educational. On August 14, the Kennett Symphony is performing a show in Kennett Square that is both interesting and educational. And, on August 15, the Kennett Symphony is presenting a pure concert performance in Kennett Square.<\/p>\n

On Saturday at 1 p.m. in the <\/strong>Grand Ballroom at the Mendenhall Inn (323 Kennett Pike\/Route 52, Ken<\/strong>nett Square, kennettsymphony.org<\/a>), the Kennett Symphony will present \u201cBeethoven and Bellinis,\u201d which is billed as \u201ca re-imagined symphony experience: Beethoven and Bellinis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s inaugural reimaged concert experience was a great success for the Kennett Symphony.<\/p>\n

This year, the company is continuing this extraordinary project with a musical encounter with Beethoven\u2019s bacchanalian \u201cSymphony No. 7,\u201d complete with fascinating musical insights presented by Music Director, Michael Hall.<\/p>\n

With the orchestra in the round, and food and drink available throughout the performance, this is a completely unique experience. This event is described as \u201cperfect for people wanting a more relaxed and intimate relationship to the music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets are $40 for adults and $10 for students (age 18 and under). Ticket price includes the concert, your first\u00a0bellini and hors d\u2019oeuvres. The Bellini cocktail, which originated in Venice, Italy, is a mixture of Prosecco sparkling wine and peach pur\u00e9e or nectar. A cash bar is also available on site.<\/p>\n

On April 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Exhibition Hall of Longwood Gardens (1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square), the Kennett Symphony will present \u201cRomance & Revelry\u201d featuring Michael Hall, Conductor and Music Director, and Eliezer Gutman, Violin.<\/p>\n

The program will include Juan Cris\u00f3stomo Jacobo Antonio de Arriaga y Balzola\u2019s \u201cLos Esclavos Felices: Overture,\u201d Anton\u00edn Leopold Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s \u201cRomance,\u201d <\/strong>Camille Saint-Sa\u00ebns\u2019 \u201cIntroduction & Rondo Capriccioso,\u201d and Beethoven\u2019s \u201cSymphony No.\u00a07.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets are $50 for adults and $10 for students (age 18 and under).<\/p>\n

Video link for Kennett Symphony — https:\/\/youtu.be\/iaXDpMYky-4<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Serafin String Quartet<\/p><\/div>\n

At 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at the World Caf\u00e9 Live Upstairs Stage (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>), the Serafin String Quartet will present a program titled \u201cJourneys from Old to New, East to West.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SSQ will be joined by narrator\u00a0Philip Gentry<\/a> to present an interactive program featuring four pairings of works around the following themes: \u201cThe Father of the Quartet and his student, works by Haydn and Beethoven,\u201d \u201cThe Romantics<\/em>, works by Mendelssohn and Puccini,\u201d \u201cLooking to the East, works by Dohnanyi and Shostakovich,\u201d and \u201cWelcome to America!, works by Higdon and Still.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Gentry will intersperse readings throughout the program offering historical insights into the works and composers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Phillip Gentry<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis is my first tine to work with the Serafin String Quartet,\u201d said Gentry, during a phone interview Thursday afternoon from his home in Philadelphia. \u201cI\u2019ve been a fan of them for a long time \u2013 and I\u2019ve heard them play a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Serafin String Quartet includes Kate Ransom and Lisa Vaupel (violins), Sheila Browne (viola) and Lawrence Stomberg (cello) — all of whom are current or former professors at the University of Delaware. The foursome is UD\u2019s \u201cQuartet in Residence.\u201d Gentry is also on the faculty at the University of Delaware as an \u201cAssistant Professor, Music History and Literature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey approached me,\u201d said Gentry. \u201cThey had already come up with the project. They wanted to do a concert that was a little more informal. Instead of a pre-concert lecture, my talks are woven in between the four segments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first segment features early works by Haydn, who is considered the father of the string quartet. Haydn really invented the genre. The piece they\u2019re doing \u2013 \u2018The Haydn Rider Quartet\u2019 \u2013 has beautiful classical counterpoints and is very well-balanced. The Beethoven piece is one of his early works where he was trying to emulate Haydn\u2019s style.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Romantics<\/em>\u201d features music by Felix Mendelssohn and Giacomo Puccini.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis section has Mendelssohn\u2019s \u2018Opus 44\u2019 string quartet. The Puccini piece is \u201cChrysanthemums\u2019 \u2013 an elegy piece that is unusual.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Looking to the East\u2019 has Shostakovich\u2019s \u2018String Quartet No. 7,\u2019 which came from his middle period. The other number is \u2018Serenade,\u2019 a work by Ern\u0151 Dohn\u00e1nyi, a 20th-century Hungarian composer.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Welcome to America!,\u2019 has works by Higdon and Still. The Serafin String Quarter has worked very closely with Jennifer Higdon. They have a long-standing collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for the Serafin String Quartet \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/ZMSfU0GXbEU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live will start at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $17 at the door.<\/p>\n

A few hours later, there will be a show of an entirely different nature on the same stage.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Caitlyn Smith<\/p><\/div>\n

At 9:30 p.m. at the World Caf\u00e9 Live\u2019s Upstairs Stage, there will be a concert by Caitlyn Smith \u2013 a Nashville artist who is on the brink of breaking through big-time.<\/p>\n

Smith is like the Nashville Music scene\u2019s equivalent of the Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 Nick Foles.<\/p>\n

Smith has been active in the Nashville music scene for a long time \u2013 but always in the background. She\u2019s been one of Music City\u2019s top songwriters for well over a decade.<\/p>\n

Smith, a native of Cannon Falls, Minnesota, has passed the \u201chalfway-to-1,000 mark\u201d in the songs written category and has penned hits for a wide range of country and country rock artists, including Dolly Parton, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Garth Brooks and Meghan Trainor with John Legend.<\/p>\n

For years, she tried to get record labels interested in signing her as a recording artist. But, her continued attempts were abortive. The music biz \u201csuits\u201d in Nashville viewed the music she was making on her own as \u201ctoo pop for country and too country for pop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Foles, who appeared destined to be a journeyman quarterback in the NFL, Smith persevered, never gave up hope and then made her mark when the time was right.<\/p>\n

A little while ago, Smith released her debut album \u201cStarfire\u201d on Monument Records. The album garnered great reviews for Smith, who was named one of Rolling Stone Magazine\u2019s \u201c10 New Artists You Need To Know\u201d in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cI first made my way to Nashville when I was 16,\u201d said Smith, during a phone interview Friday morning on her way to New York City for a gig at the Mercury Lounge.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Nashville, I found an incredible songwriting community that I fell in love with. I saw that you could have the nest voice in the world but, without a song, you won\u2019t get very far. I realized you could make a lot of money writing for other people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went back-and-forth between Minnesota and Tennessee for years and then moved to Nashville full-time eight years ago. I signed a publishing contract. When I first moved to town, it was a five-day-a-week scenario \u2013 either at an office on Music Row or at someone\u2019s studio.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith found the \u201c9-to-5\u201d songwriting experience to be somewhat restrictive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking under those conditions was a little much for me to retain inspiration,\u201d said Smith, who has a singing voice that is powerful and soulful \u2013 and smooth at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve found that some of my best songs are written late at night with a bottle of wine or when I\u2019m out on the road. Songwriting is like a muscle. It\u2019s a muscle you need to use and work. You just need to do it and do it \u2013 over and over again.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoving to Music City definitely changed my writing. In Minnesota, I was mostly writing by myself. In writing for country acts, you learn boundaries \u2013 what works and what doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Establishing herself as a singer who was a recording artist fell into the \u201cwhat doesn\u2019t work\u201d category. Fortunately, that has all changed now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Nashville, I spent years trying to figure out what I wanted to do as an artist,\u201d said Smith, whose husband songwriter Rollie Gaalswyk is a member of her touring band.<\/p>\n

\u201cI even tried to make a country album \u2013 but that wasn\u2019t me. \u2018Starfire\u2019 came when I stepped back. I learned how to craft a song and didn\u2019t care about other things. I just wanted to make my own music \u2013 to dig a little deeper and learn who I was as an artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many times in the last 15 years, I wanted to give up. My husband and friends reminded me to keep going. It\u2019s all about perseverance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely had optimism about his record. I didn\u2019t want to make a country record or a pop album. I just wanted to make music I loved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Caitlyn Smith \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/yhMZ6ADitjM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show, which has Andre Davidson as the opening act, will start at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $15.<\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at the World Caf\u00e9 Live are Rita Coolidge on April 15 and Tyrell Wells on April 18.<\/p>\n

The Brazilian city Curitiba has a lot going for it. It is the third-most popular city in Brazil behind Rio de Janeiro and is the capital and largest city of the state of Parana.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Abraskadabra<\/p><\/div>\n

It has a strong presence in the world of international football (soccer) having been a host city in the 1950 and 2014 World Cup competitions. It is also home to one of Brazil\u2019s top teams — Atl\u00e9tico Paranaense.<\/p>\n

It is also a cultural center with theaters, museums, botanical gardens, and the world-famous Wire Opera House, which was built on the site of an abandoned quarry.<\/p>\n

In the world of rock music, Curitiba is a special place because it is the home of the internationally-acclaimed Brazilian ska-punk band Abraskadabra.<\/p>\n

Arising in mid-2003, Abraskadabra is a seven-piece band from southern Brazil. The group\u2019s influences are diverse with an emphasis on melodic hardcore and third wave ska \u2013 and, most important, on melody.<\/p>\n

Having played for more than 10 years now, the energetic septet has established itself as Brazil\u2019s top ska\/punk\/skacore band.<\/p>\n

From 2003-2014, the band\u2019s discography included \u201cDestroying Your Mother on The Bed\u201d EP (2008), \u201cGrandma Nancy\u2019s Old School Garden\u201d LP (2012), \u201cNot Your Savior (No Use For A Name Cover)\u201d single (2013), and \u201cFun as in Fungus\u201d EP (2014).<\/p>\n

Recently, the band released its sophomore album \u201cWelcome\u201d and this week arrived in the states to start a tour supporting the new disc. The tour will touch down locally on April 15 at Kung Fu Necktie (1248 North Front Street, Philadelphia, 215-291-4919, kungfunecktie.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s current members are Buga \u2013 guitar, vocals; Dub \u2013 guitar, vocals; Japa — bass; JP — trumpet; Maka — drums; Papaya — trombone; and Trosso \u2013 saxophone, vocals.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and Buga have been playing together for 16 years,\u201d said Trosso, during a phone interview Friday afternoon from a tour stop in Boston. \u201cIn high school, we had the same tastes \u2013 always taking about punk rock. We went to the same shows. When we started listening to ska and punk, we said \u2013 this is what we want to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur first concert was in 2003 at one of our high school events. Right now, there are seven in the band. We\u2019ve been in the last formation for five or six years. The horn players come and go. The nucleus is me, Buga and Maka, our drummer. Japa, our bass player, joined after 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to play guitar and sing. I switched to sax but also still do vocals. We have four lead singers throughout the whole new album.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abraskadabra toured the states after the release of its first album and now is repeating the process for \u201cWelcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe released \u2018Welcome\u2019 two months ago,\u201d said Trosso. \u201cWhen we made the album, we brought my recording equipment to a house we rented on the outskirts of Curtiba.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded everything ourselves. We lived in the house for three weeks \u2013 living like a family and searching for the perfect sound. I\u2019ve been living in London, England for last two years and I finished tracking the album at my studio there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our live shows on this tour, we\u2019re trying to just promote the new album. Most of the set will be songs from the album and maybe one or two from earlier in our career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Abraskadabra — https:\/\/youtu.be\/wHjjee9leq8<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Kung Fu Necktie, which has Fink\u2019s Constant, Joker\u2019s Republic, and The Creds as opening acts, will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times If you\u2019re a fan of classical music \u2013 or if you\u2019d like to get some exposure to it to see if you like it \u2013 you\u2019re in luck this weekend. On April 14, the Serafin String Quartet is performing a show in Philadelphia that is both interesting and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[10152,10153,6518,1229,5423],"class_list":["post-28155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-abraskadabra","tag-caitlyn-smith","tag-featured","tag-kennett-symphony","tag-serafin-string-quartet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28156,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28155\/revisions\/28156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}