2014-2015 Concert Series
Sunday, April 12th, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.
A MULTIMEDIA MUSICAL TRIBUTE to Middletown’s Famous 19th Century Songwriters featuring OUTSTANDING MUSICIANS OF MIDDLETOWN
Songwriter and Middletown-Portland native Joe Flood has organized some of Middletown’s brightest musical lights – to interpret the songs of Middletown’s own Henry Clay Work (1832-1884), Reginald de Koven (1859-1920), and broadside poet Edward Barrett (1817-1914).
Work wrote words and music to numerous “hits” of the 1800s. “Marching Through Georgia”, “Grandfather’s Clock”, and “The Ship That Never Returned” among the best known. As the first successful American light opera composer, de Koven was a central figure in American music for three decades. His comic opera “Robin Hood” was one of the longest running shows of its time. Barrett published over 200 poems in the Penny Press , forerunner to the Middletown Press. Several were set to traditional tunes from his native Ireland. The program also includes readings from period texts and the projection of period photographs that give context to their lives.
Featuring: JOE FLOOD, Producer (guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin, and vocals), Rani Arbo (vocals), Tom Callinan (vocals), Michael Cleary (guitar and vocals), Vince DeLaria (keyboards), Jerry Dugger(vocals), Mark Ettinger (accordion, piano, bouzouki), Joe Fonda (double bass), Fred Moses (percussion, vocals), Scott Kessel (drums and percussion), and Edmund Pearl (drums).
Saturday , October 18, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
THE SICILIAN TENORS
The celebrated three SICILIAN TENORS, Caruso, Scaccio and Vitale lend their voices to the music of Italy, Broadway and Hollywood. Their united forces create a whirlwind of bella musica and lighthearted fun…not to mention the requisite “one-upmanship” expected when tenors gather! Their nationally-acclaimed performances stretch from Carnegie Hall to Las Vegas! The three tenors all have Sicilian ancestry.
Aaron Caruso studied in Italy and New York and has performed opera from La Boheme, La Traviata, I Pagliacci, and Tosca. He was recently chosen to sing the role of Mario Lanza which will open on Broadway in the near future. At nearly all of the major Italian music festivals in the U.S. he has been a headliner, specializing in Neapolitan Italian music. Elio Scaccio, a seasoned credentialed opera performer, has been an on-stage artist since early childhood. Classically-trained, his pop-classical debut CD “Lettere D’Amore” was released recently. It is comprised of original compositions along with well-known Italian classics and was followed by a Spanish version. He has the ability to “crossover” between classical and pop standards. Sam Vitale is also a classically-trained tenor and seasoned credentialed opera performer. He has sung the lead tenor roles in “Carmen”, “La Traviata”, “Tosca”, “L’Elisir d’Amore”, “The Phantom of the Opera”, Don Giovanni” and “I Pagliacci”. While in the United States Air Force Vitale won 1st place in the World Wide Tops in Blue Competition - Classical Division. He is a proud veteran of Operation Desert Storm. The Sicilian Tenors are accompanied by David Gross, conductor, piano accompanist, music director and arranger for top stars including Andrea Bocelli, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Vale, and many others.