Music

Join blues guitarist & historian Scott Ainslie on Friday March 21, 2014, 7:30 pm, in Library’s Main Room for a visually and musically entertaining exploration of the region that was ground zero for the development of the Blues. Tickets are $20.00/ $15.00 for Friends of Library members, and may be purchased at Brattleboro Tix or at the library’s circulation desks, and at the door. To benefit the Friends of BML.

BRATTLEBORO MUSIC CENTER

Who else but the BMC would pack so much wonderful music in to one month?  

We have you covered from Brattleboro to Chester to Wilmington!  With a lunchtime concert, featured local composers, world class musicians, a special children’s performance, and two concerts to support the hungry in our community  —  there is something for everyone.  Come join us and enjoy!

On Friday, March 14, at 8:00 p.m. in the Vermont Jazz Center performance space at the Cotton Mill Hill complex, Friends of Music at Guilford presents a “World Music & Jazz Roots” concert benefiting its annual Music Enrichment Program at Guilford Central School.

The Friday concert features two ensembles drawing on jazz and classical foundations as well as traditional instrumental and vocal music from around the world. They blend those roots and rhythms into World Music and jazz forms, often original and sometimes skillfully improvised, but always a masterful, creative fusion carrying their audience along on a joyful, soulful journey.

Sometime last year, it broke into my consciousness that there was a new arts group in town called the Future Collective and they were doing interesting things. But it wasn’t until this year, when suddenly they held a fundraiser and rented a space on Elliott Street, that I finally got around to figuring out who they were. What they are is very cool – a loosely affiliated group of artists, musicians, visionaries, and creative types who want to create a supportive scene around a free interpretation of the arts. I’m making that up. I have no idea what their actual mission is but it seems related to joy, freedom, beauty, and awesomeness for all. Mission aside, they’ve already given me one thing I’d been missing for a while – loud, live rock and roll music.

Think book club for music lovers!

On Monday, the Brattleboro Music Center’s new monthly gatherings for music and discussion begin. Monday’s session will be led by accomplished pianist and Windham Orchestra director Hugh Keelan.  The Music Appreciation gathers will be held from 1:30 to 3 pm at the BMC, 38 Walnut Street in Brattleboro.  All are invited to attend, no previoius knowledge or experience needed to enjoy.  $5 suggested fee.

Electric Fence returns to Pleasant Valley Brewing in Saxtons River for a night of rocking-acoustic-swing and rock and roll. Steve Carmichael, Howard Weiss-Tisman, Jonny Sheehan and Jeremy Holch have been playing in the area for five years.

They have developed a sound that incorporates folk, rock, swing, blues and country, bringing an original spin to covers, as well as to their original tunes. Come out and welcome mud season. Pleasant Valley Brewing is in Saxtons River. The music starts at 8.

Grammy Award-winning Jazz and Funk Powerhouse, SNARKY PUPPY Comes to Brattleboro, Vermont

The Vermont Jazz Center will present the Grammy Award winning band, Snarky Puppy at the Latchis Theater on March 15th at 8:00 PM. Snarky Puppy is a collective of about 30 interchangeable musicians supplementing a core group under the direction of electric bassist, Michael League. Nine of the members will be performing at the Latchis. They represent a new wave of young, smart musicians who have successfully united the trifurcated worlds of jazz, R & B and funk.

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of swing, honky-tonk and fiddle music by The Sweetback Sisters and Elixir at Next Stage on Friday, March 7 at 7:30 pm.

The Sweetback Sisters forge their own sound by delivering arrangements that combine the soul of classic ‘40s and ‘50s-era country music with an undeniably contemporary edge. The rollicking country, swing, honky-tonk and old-time music of Emily Miller (vocals, fiddle, guitar), Zara Bode (vocals, guitar), Stefan Amidon (drums, vocals), Jesse Milnes (fiddle, guitar, vocals), Ryan Hommel (electric guitar) and Peter Bitenc (acoustic bass) is as infectious as it is heartbreaking.  Their charismatic charm harkens back to the golden era of both the silver screen cowgirl and the ersatz cowboy stars of local UHF TV kiddie shows.  That whimsical exterior is wrapped around a core of deeply felt love for traditional country music styles and a palpable joy in playing and singing together.

MUSIC AND IMAGES OF MISSISSIPPI DELTA WITH SCOTT AINSLIE

Nationally acclaimed acoustic Blues singer, historian and songwriter, Scott Ainslie, will perform a benefit concert for the Friends of the Brooks Memorial Library. The concert will be held on Friday, March 21 at 7:30 in the Brooks Library on Main Street in Brattleboro.

Advance tickets are available through Brattleborotix http://www.brattleborotix.com/boxoffice or at the Front Desk of the Library. Tickets will be available at the door; ticket prices are $20 ($15 for members of the Friends of the Library).

Get your tickets now! Join the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library on Friday, March 21, at 7:30 PM, for a concert to support the services and programs at Brooks Memorial Library–The Land Where the Blues Began: Images and Music of the Mississippi Delta with Scott Ainslie. 

Scott Ainslie has combed the Library of Congress photo archives and combined archival photos with his own images of the Mississippi Delta for a concert tour that explores this formative region of the American South. Visually and musically entertaining, the concert is a richly varied exploration of the region that was ground zero for the development of the Blues. 

Don’t miss this rare treat!  On Friday evening, The Starry Mountain Singers (featuring members of the beloved Sweetback Sisters) will grace the Sandglass stage with their gorgeous and intoxicating harmonies!

Friday, February 21st, 7:30 pm

Suggested Donation $10 – $15

At Sandglass Theater

17 Kimball Hill, Putney, VT

to make reservations (highly recommended!)
By Email: stefanamidon@gmail.com
or by phone: 718-916-1544

In March, the Brattleboro Music Center will begin offering a new series of adult education programs during the day. The adult daytime series launches with monthly music appreciation gatherings, a chorus for seniors, and a beginning adult violin class.

The launch of the BMC’s new adult daytime track is a direct response to the region’s decidedly older adult population, and the mounting evidence that engagement in music as we age has significant positive health benefits.

The Vermont Jazz Center will present the Jensen Sisters featuring Ben Monder in concert on Saturday, February 15th at 8:00 PM. New York-based Ingrid Jensen is a trumpeter known for her original work as a composer, bandleader and distinguished member of the Maria Schneider Orchestra. She has been hailed by jazz great, Marian McPartland for her ability to play “with all the fire and brilliance of a virtuoso.” Montreal-based Christine Jensen has been described as, “one of Canada’s most compelling composers.” She is a saxophonist known for her multifaceted compositions and orchestrations and has won Juno and Opus Awards in recognition of her work. They will be joined by guitarist Ben Monder, one of the most versatile and interesting colorists on his instrument. The quintet will be rounded out by acoustic bassist Matt Clohesy and Jon Wikan on drums.

Hello Everyone,

We have some great classes starting soon, but a few holes to fill

We have a vacancy in our monday vocal class – this is a very special class and we will be working on some really great under sung songs!

There is a possibility for a beginning adult ensemble with another person or two, start your next big step in jazz now!

The Ben Carr Music Project performs original ‘ukulele inspired rock, reggae, funk and jazz at the Whetstone on Thursday, Jan. 23. The show begins at 8 pm and is free.

Visit the Whetstone at 36 Bridge St, Brattleboro, .

The band features Ben Carr on vocals and ‘ukulele, Jason Koerber on flute and saxophone, Josh Maiocco on guitar, Joel Eisenkramer on guitar, Pat Steven on bass, and Pete Biolsi on drums.

It may be freezing outside, but inside the Brattleboro Music Center’s spring semester starts next week. Get involved and let the music warm you! 

Consider starting that instrument you have always wanted to play! We offer lessons in 16 instruments & voice to all ages and levels. 

We also have classes for kids, teens & adults – including our new adult daytime programs, take a look:

Southeastern Vermont’s Northern Roots Traditional Music Festival will take place on Saturday, January 25, 2014 in Brattleboro, Vermont.  Now in its 7th year, the Brattleboro Music Center’s annual festival brings together local and regional musicians representing the best of various northern musical traditions.  This year’s festival features over twenty musicians and the rich traditions of Ireland, Scotland, England, Scandinavia, New England and French Canada.

The annual Northern Roots Festival is a celebrated opportunity for Brattleboro’s vibrant community of traditional musicians to come together to share their music with each other and the community at large. The festival also draws on the richness of talent in the broader region, with players from throughout New England coming to perform, teach and participate in informal sessions.

Singer/songwriter Lisa McCormick, of Brattleboro, VT, is one of five artists selected to attend a four-week artist residency in Florida, for the month of February. 

McCormick will be dedicating the residency time to composing new original songs for her upcoming CD and concerts.

The Escape-to-Create artists are selected from an international pool of applicants, following a peer review selection process. Since 1993, Escape to Create’s multi-disciplinary residency offers artists the gift of time and space from a community engaged in furthering artistic expression. 

Twilight Music presents acoustic swing and alt gypsy jazz quartet Caravan of Thieves, plus fiddler Emma Walsh, at Next Stage on Friday, January 17 at 7:30 pm.

For the past five years, Caravan of Thieves has roamed the North American continent recruiting a family of avid thrill seekers at their high energy shows. Driving gypsy jazz rhythms, acoustic guitars, upright bass and violin lay the foundation for mesmerizing vocal harmonies and fantastic stories. It’s theatrical and humorous. It’s musical and intense. It entertains, dazzles and defies classification while welcoming the spectator to join the band throughout the performance in momentary fits of claps, snaps and sing-alongs.

Windham Orchestra

BRUCKNER & SIBELIUS in Brattleboro & Saxtons River 

On Friday, January 17 in Saxtons River, and Sunday, January 19 in Brattleboro, the Windham Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Hugh Keelan, presents a dynamic program ranging from Bruckner’s popular 19th century “Romantic” Fourth Symphony; to local composer Jan Norris’ new work “Melting Spring.”