"George Harrison: A Gardener's Life" at Selby Gardens

"All Things Must Pass" album cover

In a world in which people are fans of either the Stones or the Beatles, I fall firmly into the Stones' camp. So I wasn't particularly excited about seeing this year's headline exhibit at Selby Gardens - "George Harrison: A Gardener's Life." Surprisingly, the folks at Selby know much more about selecting exhibition themes than I do. It's a thoroughly enjoyable choice for showcasing the Gardens.   

The exhibit is being promoted with this photo of Harrison sitting amidst some garden gnomes. He's in a big field wearing boots appropriate for mucking around in the mud. Lovers of Harrison's solo music might recall the image as the cover for his "All Things Must Pass" album from 1970. What's the story? I'll get there, but a little patience is required.

Guess the song that accompanies this vignette

The Beatles broke up when Harrison was just 27 years old, leaving him with a lot of time on his hands and a lot of money in his pocket. Harrison and first wife Pattie Boyd (who later left him for Eric Clapton) purchased Friar Park, a 32 acre property located outside of London. The historic estate needed a lot of TLC, and by all accounts Harrison and both Pattie and second wife Olivia were up for the task.  

Friar Park was created in the late 19th century by English lawyer, botanist and eccentric Frank Crisp. (For the record, this is how Crisp is described online rather than my characterization.) Before beginning his development of the property, Crisp commissioned artist Alan Tabor to create a map of the features the estate would include. Taking his cue from Crisp's book on medieval gardens (and Crisp's somewhat quirky sense of humor), Tabor's map titled everything "Ye" and included areas like Ye Dial Gardens (a topiary garden), Ye Upper Lodge (High but not Haughty) and Ye Japanese Garden (complete with images of geishas). To see a copy of this wonderful artifact, click here. So far as I can tell, everything included in this plan was created when the estate was built out. 

Selby's replica of the Friar Park replica of the Matterhorn 

While the design included a number of somewhat outrageous features, perhaps none is more striking than the four acre Alpine garden with a 20' replica of the Matterhorn. (The mountain had recently been climbed for the first time, so some homage was obviously due.) Selby's even smaller version faithfully includes the fake mountain goat that Crisp positioned atop the mountain. 

Tucked amidst the rocks of the Alpine Garden are numerous caves that, sadly, are not in Selby's recreation. Included among them was the gnome cave from which the creatures presumably sprang to populate Friar Park. This cave also included a special mirror that made the viewer look like a gnome herself. That could be a shock to the system if you weren't prepared. For more on Crisp's Matterhorn and rock garden, click here. 

Friar Park exchanged hands a couple of times before the Harrisons' purchase. In 1953, the bulk of the estate was donated to the Salesian Nuns of Don Bosco. During their tenure, the nuns operated a convent school on the estate and ran a parochial school in town. And this is where the gnomes come in. The nuns didn't share Crisp's fascination with gnomes and pitched the kitsch -- along with old beds and other housewares that had outlived their usefulness -- into the pond. When Harrison dredged the pond and found the gnomes, they were returned to their rightful places across Friar Park. 

There's much more to explore and enjoy in the exhibit, but I don't want to share here all of the discoveries to be made. "George Harrison: A Gardener's Life" runs through June 29th. Get there if you can. When your feet get a bit tired, you can take advantage of the opportunities to rest and enjoy the view at spots like "Ye pleasant prospect seate." If a visit to Selby Gardens isn't in your future, you might enjoy this video showcasing the highlights of the exhibit. And if your interest in Friar Park and its various owners has been piqued, you can find out more information by clicking here and here. And with that, this post has come to an end. I hope ye have yeself a lovely day. 

 

Kristian Bush Talks "Troubadour" and More at Florida Studio Theatre

Kristian Bush 

One of the many things I love about living in Sarasota is having the chance to get behind the scenes of theater productions around town. Case in point: Hearing from Kristian Bush, composer and lyricist of "Troubadour," a play with music now on at Florida Studio Theatre. What a treat. 

Bush is the kind of guy who's open to opportunities that unexpectedly come his way. And having been in the room with him a couple of times, I can see how that happens. He's funny and friendly and genuine --  the kind of guy you want to be around. And it doesn't hurt that he's super talented. 

His involvement with "Troubadour" began with an email. "You don't know me, but a friend of mine sat next to you on a plane and shared your contact info with me. I'm working on a play about country music in the 1950s and would like to talk to you about writing a song for it." And with that missive, the collaboration of playwright Janece Shaffer and Bush was launched. 

It was great fun to hear Bush talk about someone totally unfamiliar with theater getting sucked into the process. What was to be one song (which he wrote the same day he met Shaffer for breakfast) became five or six. He was invited to a reading of the play in one of its early iterations and sang his songs. It went well. As he was preparing to excuse himself, Shaffer asked, "How do you feel about writing 16 songs?" "But I don't know anything about musicals," Bush replied. He was told to "just keep doing what you're doing." That he could do, so he agreed on one condition. His brother Brandon would have to be involved as well. And so the Bush brothers were on board. 

Brandon and Kristian Bush

Bush said one of the reasons the project worked was because his collaboration with Shaffer was so similar to how he works with other musicians. She never faltered when he asked for a character's backstory to help him find the right words for a song. Now that's a good playwright. 

Bush was particularly endearing when he talked about writing an "innuendo song" for the show. He said he's always wanted to write lyrics as dirty as those you might find in a song by Prince but that he's too bashful. When was the last time you heard that word???  It turns out that writing for "Troubadour" gave him an opportunity. In the era of the play, singers could only get away with lyrics about sex by using food analogies. Still, Bush said, he wouldn't have sung the song if his mother had been in the audience. It includes the lyrics, "[If you] Wanna taste my ice cream, I get to taste your lollipop." I swear he was blushing as he sang. 

While "Troubadour" was the focus of the evening, Bush also shared some stories and songs from his other bands. His musical partnership with Jennifer Nettles -- performing under the name Sugarland -- is the best known. Nettles had decided to step away from the duo at the time Bush was writing songs for the play. He channeled the resulting emotions into "Troubadour," a song about the lead character wondering if he was going to be forgotten. When Shaffer et al heard it, they renamed the show, which was originally going to be called "Is He Crazy?" (Side note: Sugarland is getting back together.) 

As Bush was talking and singing, I was scribbling down lyrics so I could look up the songs later. I was particularly keen to check out a song written about the moment before you kill the one you love the most. Bush was laughing when he said lots of couples get married to that one. I get it. "Stuck on Glue" has phrases like "Absolutely nobody knows me better" and "There you go making me feel like a kid." But if you watch the music video, you'll see that the couple has broken up and the woman has become a stalker. It's hilarious. You can see it by clicking here. I hope those marriages fare better. 

As you can probably tell, I'm still smiling thinking about how much fun it was to get up close and personal with Kristian Bush. Thanks to FST for creating these opportunities. I'm looking forward to seeing "Troubadour" even more now that I know some of the backstories. The show runs through May 19. For more information, click here. 

B(e)ach Day: An Artistic Collaboration

Artwork by Tim Jaeger; production by StoryVox

First, let me set the scene. When I walked into the event space, I was immediately immersed in the colorful and inviting art of Tim Jaeger. Beach paintings of all shapes and sizes (including on a surfboard!) enveloped the room. The front wall featured three screens with shifting images of Jaeger's work. Umbrellas that periodically changed color hung from the ceiling, and beach balls were poised on couches ready for some friendly fun. 

A lone chair sat perched in the sand awaiting Natalie Helm, principal cellist of the Sarasota Orchestra. At the appointed hour, Helm took her seat -- barefoot and wearing a beach-appropriate dress -- with her Raphael di Blasio cello circa 1803. The lights dimmed, and the audience quieted. 

Natalie Helm 

As Helm played the first chords of Bach's Cello Suites, the panels on the umbrella's canopy began to change colors. At first, they were the vibrant solid colors seen in Jaeger's art. Then abstracted images from his paintings appeared. The shifts were synchronized to match the music. The overall effect was gorgeous, and there were still five movements to come. (Side note: Helm played much of this movement in the dark.) 

Many of the Suites were accompanied by video. For one movement, the waves seemed to lap at Helm's feet as the sun lowered towards the horizon.  Another featured Jaeger in his studio. The side screens showed close-ups of the artist at work -- mixing his paint, applying a stroke of brilliant red to a canvas, standing back to consider what he'd done. 

The most remarkable video showed one of Jaeger's works coming into existence. Color me baffled. As we watched (and listened), aerial views of beach umbrellas were drawn. Other shapes and colors were added. A wave emerged, close enough for beachgoers to know relief from the heat was nearby but far enough away not to threaten their set-up. It was all quite magical. 

I haven't made enough about Helm's contribution to the event. Her performance was stunning. It was a true treat to be close enough not only to watch her every movement but to hear her breathe. She swayed and smiled as she played, sometimes closing her eyes. She was totally at one with the music and her instrument. And she's as gorgeous as she is talented. 

And then there is StoryVox, the production company that brought Jaeger's and Helm's work together in such an extraordinary way. StoryVox' website talks about "building a concept that addresses your needs while elevating your brand." I suspect the realization of Jaeger's and Helm's idea was far and beyond what they had initially imagined. To read more about StoryVox, click here. 

For more about Tim Jaeger and his art, click here. He has many exciting projects going on in addition to his day job as Director and Chief Curator of Galleries + Exhibitions at Ringling College. I just learned that he has partnered with JOANN Fabrics to bring three of his designs to fabric stores across the United States in the next few months. (Who knew that JOANN Fabrics has a featured artist program?) And then there are the 41 stained glass windows he's doing for Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa. Click here to read about that project.

For more on Natalie Helm, click here. I wasn't surprised to read a long list of accolades or to learn she's performed all across the country and abroad. What did surprise me, though, was learning that Helm founded a group called Upward Notes that performs for audiences as diverse as prisoners, dementia patients and drug rehab patients. Her unusual gigs at animal shelters gained the attention of People magazine. Click here to read the article and to watch a video of Helm at work. Always keen for a collaboration, Helm is partnering with Sarasota Contemporary Dance on April 15 for an in-studio performance. I already have my ticket. 

Here's to Tim Jaeger, Natalie Helm, StoryVox and designer Tippy Taylor for bringing Sarasota an exciting immersive evening of art and music. Never underestimate the power of a good collaboration. 

True Stories from the Hermitage Artist Retreat -- Burke and Hare

Burke and Hare Victims -- All opera photos by Liza Voll

Photography for Boston Lyric Opera

"Opera gets a bum rap," composer Julian Grant lamented on a recent evening at Hermitage Artist Retreat. "It's not all large people yelling at each other in a foreign language."

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.  Take, for instance, The Nefarious, Immoral but Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke and Mr. Hare, with music by Grant and libretto by Mark Campbell. The darkly comic chamber opera was commissioned by the Boston Lyric Opera and premiered in November 2017. Grant said the title was offered up to BLO in jest; they jumped on it.

The opera tells the story of the Scottish serial murderers William Burke and William Hare. It is 1828 Edinburgh, a time at which medical schools have started using cadavers as a teaching tool. But where to get the bodies -- especially once the authorities cracked down on gravedigging?  It was a particular problem for Dr. Robert Knox, an anatomy instructor who promised "a full demonstration of anatomical subjects at every lesson."  Enter Burke and Hare.

The fellows' significant others ran a low-end boarding house in Edinburgh. One morning they rapped on a lodger's door to collect the rent. Instead of a chap counting out his coins to pay them, they found a dead body. They had been relying on that rent!  What to do?  The enterprising pair took the body to Knox's surgeon's college -- and came away with much more compensation than a month's rent would have yielded.

Dr. Knox defends his actions as being for the greater good

An idea was hatched. Would anyone really miss people living on the periphery of society? Over the next ten months, Knox was the happy recipient of 16 bodies, many of whom were former lodgers at the Burke and Hare residence. Knox turned a blind eye to the question of how Burke and Hare located all these fresh cadavers. Until, that is, a woman who Knox's assistant had been dating turned up on the operating table. As the story goes, unbeknownst to the assistant, his girlfriend was a prostitute. She would kiss him goodnight at the corner before heading off to her night job. Her profession made her fit squarely within Burke and Hare's victim profile.

What goes around comes around -- Burke on the table

Once the truth came out, all hell broke loose. Hare turned on Burke in exchange for immunity. Burke was given the death sentence, hanged, and then dissected in the same anatomy theater in which Knox had anatomized the murder victims. The lines were so long to witness his autopsy that viewers were limited to 50 at a time. Burke's skeleton was preserved and, along with a death mask, can be seen today at Edinburgh's Anatomy Museum. Even more morbid, a book bound in his skin can be seen at the Surgeon's Hall Museum.

As to Knox, he was summarily fired and his assistant elevated to the position. A children's nursery rhyme exists today that goes, in part, "Knox is the boy who buys the beef."

Grant shared a bit of the writing process with the audience. It seemed fitting that much of the work was done in the gritty bars of Greenwich Village. It was clearly a happy collaboration. Grant called Campbell's opening words "genius." (They were: "The people of Edinburgh aren't dying.... quickly enough."  Boston Lyric Opera used them in their marketing of the work.)

Composer Julian Grant

He talked about the final scene in which Campbell had proposed the introduction of a new character -- a police officer who would take Burke and Hare off in cuffs. Grant didn't like the idea. After some brainstorming, the pair landed on a much more creative ending. The five murder victims in the show linked arms and walked in lockstep as they impersonated police officers coming on the scene.

It's worth noting that the opera wasn't performed in a typical proscenium theater. In a flash of brilliance, it was produced at a former indoor venue for cyling races -- The Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts. As a result, patrons peered down into the scene much as Knox' students would have viewed the autopsies.

Time was running short by the end of Grant's talk about The Nefarious....., so we only heard a bit about his other work. I would love to see his feminist version of The Odyssey entitled Odysseus Unwound.  The only male actor in the opera is Odysseus himself. Intriguingly, in the production at the Tete-a-Tete opera company, Shetland Island knitters, spinners and weavers were positioned around the stage and created their craft during performances. It's a far cry from the image that appears in my mind when I think "opera."

To read more about the Burke and Hare murders, click here. To read about the peculiar Burke and Hare "murder dolls" found in a park in the 1830s, click here. And to learn about the Hermitage Artist Retreat -- and sign up for their email blasts to learn about upcoming programs -- click here.

The Art of Performance -- Rochester Style

The Genesee River High Falls

You would never mistake the Rochester Fringe Festival for the Edinburgh Fringe. Among the many differences is participation in the Festival by some of the city's most established cultural organizations, including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rochester City Ballet. But as long as I was going to visit, why not go when there were Fringe shows to be seen?

The Genesee River High Falls in downtown Rochester served as the site of our first Fringe experience. After donning ear phones, we walked to the center of the bridge directly opposite the Falls. The "performance" was a ten minute podcast about Sam Patch aka "The Yankee Leaper."

Patch's biggest claim to fame was living to tell the tale after he jumped off a raised platform adjacent to Niagara Falls. But he also jumped twice off a platform erected next to Rochester's own High Falls. To give you a sense of scale, the teeny tiny white dots to the left of the Falls are people. His first leap took place on a cold November day. It was a success, but Patch found the profits from his plunge less than impressive. And so he decided to do an encore performance on Friday, November 13, 1829. Patch stood on the platform in his signature white suit and stepped over the edge. When he failed to emerge from the icy water, the 8000+ spectators thought it  was just a show business prank. That speculation was put to rest when his frozen body emerged down river the following spring.

Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra was a first time participant in the Festival, and we were there. What made the concert wholly contemporary -- if not exactly"fringe-y" -- was the performance of four works by living composers. John Adams' Scheherezade 2 was the centerpiece of the evening. It was not to my taste. I did, however, enjoy Mothership by Mason Bates. The composition included both improvisation and electronic music. I could practically see a strange aircraft hover over the stage and left the concert hall feeling the urge to watch the movie "Arrival" again. To hear Bates talk about the piece and listen to a performance, click here.

Maggie and I with Susan B. 

While not a performance per se, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the cocktail gathering Maggie and I attended to thank supporters of the Susan B. Anthony House and public radio station WXXI. Susan B. herself was there, having toddled down from the nearby Mount Hope Cemetery. She carried a surprisingly pristine copy of her book "Failure is Impossible." (The title comes from her famous quote, "Wherever women gather together failure is impossible.")

While we didn't visit the Susan B. Anthony House this year, it's a tour worth taking if you're in the Rochester area. With the 100th anniversary of the enactment of the 19th Amendment nearly upon us, it's more timely than ever to remember how hard suffragists worked to obtain the right of women to vote. For more info about the Susan B. Anthony House, click here.

The most over-the-top performance we attended was a concert by Randy Rainbow of YouTube fame. The event was not part of the Fringe, although its timing happily coincided. Always on top of things, Maggie had ordered duplicates of Randy's trademark pink glasses for the evening.

The energy at the Kodak Center was high from the moment we walked into the venue. Photo opps abounded with what were effectively "get out the vote" vintage posters.  They set the mood for an evening of political satire that made me think of the expression "if you don't laugh, you'll cry."

The evening was more or less Randy singing some of his greatest hits with videos playing in the background. He kicked off with a rousing version of "You've Got Trouble Right Here in America" that had the crowd in peals of gleeful laughter.

Maggie and me with Randy Rainbow

The night went on from there with a series of faux interviews and songs that included "chats" with Kellyanne Conway that segued into "Microwaves (Are Watching You)" and Jeff Sessions that led into "Putin and the Ritz".  My favorite of the night, though, was  "Cheeto Christ Super Czar," a song that lampoons Trump's endowment upon himself of the dual titles of the King of Israel and the Chosen One. (You really couldn't make this stuff up.) Rainbow even worked in a reference to Trump's desire to buy Greenland. Click on the names of any of the songs to watch Randy in action. 

The evening was a blast. But there was a definite post-concert letdown. The cumulative effect of being smacked in the face over and over with the craziness of our current Administration was depressing.  And this was before Trump took it upon himself to trade U.S. assistance for political dirt on the Bidens. How has our country come to this place? 

Thanks once again to Maggie for putting together an action-packed itinerary for my visit to Rochester. The pressure is on to design an equally fun schedule for her trip to Sarasota in February. I'm confident my culture-rich city is up to the challenge.

Another Evening with John McCutcheon

McCutcheon with his auto harp

A John McCutcheon concert is about a lot more than music. Sure, John is an extraordinary folk singer and songwriter. And he plays a multitude of instruments, including the hammered dulcimer.

But the glue that holds it all together is his storytelling. John can weave a tale like nobody's business. By the time he gets started singing, you have a sense of time and place and people that gives the song context and meaning.  

His recent concert at Riverwood began with a story about the annual third of July party and potluck supper in Avondale States, GA. John reported that the food people bring to this event is not your typical picnic potluck fare. "And I'm a folk singer," he said with a laugh. "I know potlucks."

One year John looked down at his plate and found an exceptional assortment of cuisines. His description of the combination made the audience laugh. There was a burrito and an egg roll alongside more traditional BBQ and fried chicken. And with that image in our minds, he launched into his song "Immigrant," which goes, in part:

"She said, 'Give me your tired'
Lord you know I'm weary
When she said 'Give me your poor'
She's talking to me
One of your huddled masses
Yearning to breathe free
And I have never lost sight of
What this journey has been for
See how she lifts her lamp
Beside that golden door....."

To hear John perform "Immigrant," click here.

Then there's the song "The Machine," included on his album Ghost Light that was hot off the presses the night of the concert. A transplanted Wisconsin boy, John lived in Charlottesville for a fair portion of his adult life. He raised his family there. And so the Ku Klux Klan rally held there last summer felt particularly personal.

John commented the day of the rally was the first time he was glad his father, a proud WWII veteran, was no longer alive. The song is written from the perspective of a veteran watching the marchers stride down the street in front of his home. The lyrics go, in part, "I didn't fight the Nazis to allow them in this place."

The refrain is an homage to Woody Guthrie's belief, clearly shared by John, that we all can use our own talents and skills to fight injustice. It goes, "Woody Guthrie had this guitar with the best sign that I've seen. 'This machine kills fascists.' We must be the Machine." John went on to say the Machine might be a musical instrument or a diploma or, even simpler, an outstretched hand.

To hear John sing "The Machine" with an accompanying video, click here.

You might be getting the sense that a John McCutcheon is only about politics. Au contraire. He also writes songs that will make you laugh out loud.

A lifelong baseball fan, John's Sermon on the Mound is an entire album devoted to America's favorite pastime. His "Talking Yogi Talk" is, you guessed it, a song that borrows liberally from Yogi Berra's classic statements. The audience was practically doubled over as he sang. Click here to hear it.

And then there's "The Red Corvette" -- a song John wrote about a woman selling a '94 Corvette for a mere $65. Click here to listen -- the punch line is more classic than the car. (Sadly, we didn't hear about the genesis of this song.)

With John

You've probably figured out that I've become a huge John McCutcheon fan. I've had the pleasure of talking with John twice for articles for Florida Weekly, and he is just a delight. In our recent conversation, I picked up where we'd left off last year.

John had been on his way to his grandson's pre-school to perform a gig there. "How'd it go?" I asked. I could hear a smile in his voice as he recalled his two year old grandson pulling up a stool next to him, strumming his banjo and singing along. Stiff competition.

John said his daughter is thinking of bringing his grandson to one of his concerts this year. Whoa. What will that be like for him to realize that his grandfather is famous and doesn't just sing around the house and at nursery school? 

I suggested it might be like a kid seeing their actor parent on the big screen for the first time. More modestly, John likened it more to running into a teacher in a grocery store and realizing they have a life outside of school. Or perhaps it will be like the thunderbolt that hit John when he saw a few strands of hair peeking out from a nun's wimple.

If you ever get a chance to see John perform, don't miss it. In the meantime, pick up one--or more--of his CDs. Ghost Light is a great place to start.

When she said “Give me your poor”
She's talking to me
One of your huddled masses
Yearning to breathe free
And I never have lost sight of
What this journey has been for
See how she lifts her lamp
Beside that golden door

Arts in Medicine at Shands Hospital

Medical Grand Rounds creator
Dr. Tony Gil

You wouldn't expect a program called Medical Grand Rounds to appeal to someone whose medical experience is limited to playing "Operation" as a kid. But the program's lectures focus on the connection between medicine and music and are presented in an accessible manner. As a bonus, the program supports our local Charlotte Symphony Orchestra through sponsorships by area medical professionals. Since its inception five years ago, the program has raised $125,000 for the CSO.

The most recent Medical Grand Rounds lecture featured Andrew Sanchez, a graduate of the University of Florida who's heading to Columbia Med School. While at UF, Andrew became involved with Shands' Arts in Medicine program.

Andrew Sanchez

Andrew was quick to distinguish arts in medicine programs from art/music therapy.  Music therapy, such as the work done by Dr. Oliver Sacks, is goal-oriented. A striking example is the work being done with non-verbal Alzheimers patients who respond to the music of their youth. By contrast, arts in medicine is process-oriented. Giving patients--and their families--the opportunity to listen to music or engage in an art project is a welcome distraction from dealing with whatever led to the hospitalization.

Andrew also noted the program "rehumanizes" patients in a time when they are referred to as "healthcare recipients" being treated by "healthcare providers." When enjoying music or art, patients are no longer defined by their condition. They get to just be people again, if only for a short time. And they regain some control by having the power to decide when and how they want to participate.

But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. First, a bit of history. Duke was the first hospital to launch an arts in medicine program in 1975. The program initially took the form of monthly concerts in a public area. (The CSO participated in this type of program last year when it performed a holiday concert at Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida.)  The idea spread, with the University of Iowa pioneering an aesthetic experience for patients with a focus on art and design.  UF's Shands joined in the late 1980s and is the first institution to have a formal artist in residence program. Today nearly 50% of hospitals have some kind of arts in medicine program.

The Shands program is quite expansive and includes everything from doing craft projects to collecting oral histories. Each area has artists in residence who are paid employees of the hospital. Their jobs include not only performing but auditioning volunteers and providing training. On the musical side, performers can often be found in public areas, including the tunnels between the pediatric hospital and the cancer hospital. Some patients get bedside visits from musicians like Andrew. (In case you're wondering, the instruments used in the program stay in the hospital and are sterilized before each bedside visit.) Andrew told us a bit about how he was trained to approach these visits.

"It all starts with a knock on the door," he explained. The knock isn't random, however. Each patient's doctor has suggested that he or she might enjoy participating in the program. The musician then works to develop a rapport with the patient, explaining why he's there. The patient is given the opportunity to talk about herself and let the volunteer know if she's feeling up to the visit. If so, she's then given some choices. Andrew's repertoire isn't broad enough to permit song selection, but he does ask whether the patient wants to hear something fast or slow. (He performed examples of both for us, and his playing was a joy.) 

To see a moving example of a bedside session, click here to watch guitarist Ricky Kendall with heart transplant recipient Jamal Davis. As you will see, Jamal happily gets in on the act.

While arts in medicine programs aren't goal-oriented, Andrew noted that positive benefits have been reported. Patients who participate in the program sometimes experience less stress and anxiety. Some require less pain medication. The medical professionals benefit as well, with increased job satisfaction and a greater sense of community. The programs are truly a win-win for all involved.

A huge thanks to Andrew Sanchez for taking the time to share his experiences before heading off to med school. I can't wait to find out what the Medical Grand Rounds series has in store for us next. 

Talking Music with George Mancini

George Mancini

I'm a sucker for pianists. While I enjoy the music, what really grabs me is watching their fingers fly up and down the keyboard in a seemingly effortless manner. So it wasn't a hard sell when my friend Tony Gil invited me to Sheraton Four Points to hear George Mancini's jazz trio play. Within moments of entering the room, I realized Mancini is the real deal. The time flew as I bopped along to jazz standards, with a ridiculously wonderful version of Duke Ellington's "Caravan" closing the show.

Dave Bise and I had the chance to chat with George for our Partnership for the Arts podcast. After a lifetime as a professional musician, George has more than a few good stories. But perhaps none is more interesting than how he got his start.

With a name like Mancini, it's no big surprise that George is Italian. Music is an integral part of many Italian families' homes, and the Mancini household was no exception. From an early age, George was introduced to classical music and opera. It was a given he would learn to play an instrument, but his parents left the particulars up to him. And so a five year old George found himself standing outside a music store with his mother looking over his options. "Which one do you like?" she asked. George confesses that he couldn't even name most of the instruments. But he was intrigued by the colors and buttons on -- wait for it -- the accordion. They marched into the store and bought a woman's accordion for George to play. (I love the visual of a five year old George hefting his new possession.)

But there was a hitch. George's hometown didn't have any accordion instructors. Undaunted, George's parents signed him up with a violin instructor and an organ teacher. Together, they figured it out. George says the experience taught him early that playing an instrument isn't about the mechanics; it's about the sound. It didn't take long before George's musical talents had drawn some attention. By the time he was eight, he was performing on a weekly TV show, playing his own take on whatever style of music was called for. 

George's life as a professional musician was just getting started. A scholarship to a German university launched him into the international world of music (via a KLM propeller plane). Although he'd taught himself to play jazz piano, it was his first formal piano training. Later, he traveled the world as a clinician for The Hohner Group, showing off the versatility of the accordion. For more than a decade, he logged over 100,000 miles annually between his piano and accordion concerts and his work as a clinician. 

Whenever George found himself in a location for an extended period of time, he took on students. Despite his success as a performer, his true passion is teaching. Language was never a barrier, a fact to which his German, Japanese and Dominican students will attest. Music, he says, "transcends nationality." And learning the accordion at the knees of instructors who didn't know to play the instrument taught him the importance of aural training.

George's unique educational experience has also made him a proponent of critical thinking, a skill he teaches his students through the techniques of music. He works with them on math and science as well as music. It's all interrelated, isn't it?

He tells a funny story about a kid who couldn't get the concept of tied notes. George had tried all of his usual techniques to teach the concept. Finally, he asked the student, "What do you think of when you think of tied?" "The detergent my mom uses to wash the clothes," the child replied. George laughed, took off his shoes, and tied the laces together. "This is the type of tied I'm talking about," he explained. It was a reminder for this veteran teacher about the importance of communication.

As you can probably tell, I've become a huge George Mancini fan. He's charming and incredibly talented and fun to watch perform. His trio--comprised of George on piano, Ron Harris on drums and Isaac Mingus on bass--appears every Monday night from 7:00-9:00 at Sheraton Four Points in Punta Gorda. No cover. Just stop in, grab a bite or a glass of wine and enjoy some great music. There's often a guest musician as well, sometimes one of his talented children (a story for another day) and other times one of his students.

George's daughter Michelle Kasanofsky

And if you want to catch George on the accordion, he'll be performing this week with daughter Michelle Kasanofsky at Venice Theatre in her show "To All the Men I've Loved Before." (Michelle is the choral director at Port Charlotte High School and a fabulous pianist in her own right.)  Performances are on Thursday and Friday, July 20-21, at 8 p.m.  Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

Last, but certainly not least, to hear our interview with George, click here.  (Just scroll down a bit to get to the interview.) I hope you'll enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed chatting with him. 

An Evening with John McCutcheon

Having spent an hour on the phone interviewing singer-songwriter John McCutcheon, I was looking forward to his concert immensely. He had been charming and funny and full of great stories. I was more excited to see him take the stage, banjo in hand, than I would have been to see any rock star.

After an endearing, "Hey," he began to sing. "Oh, I wish I was a mole in the ground...."  What?!!!  Had I heard incorrectly? Nope. He continued, "I wish I was a mole in the ground/Twas as a mole in the ground I'd root that mountain down/I wish I was a mole in the ground." 

But there was no need for concern. After one stanza, McCutcheon picked at his banjo and launched into a story about the song that made its choice perfect.

Growing up in Minnesota, McCutcheon played the banjo. He calls it cultural denial. He told of finding a 78 recording of the 1928 song "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground" by Bascom Lamar Lunsford. Title aside, it had what he was looking for -- banjo accompaniment. And so he bought the LP and taught himself the song.

McCutcheon's first gig at a folk festival was at the Mountain Dance & Music Festival in Asheville, North Carolina. The Festival was founded in 1928, and there were some serious singer-songwriters there. McCutcheon was admittedly nervous to perform before an audience of 5,000 folk music fans. But he had learned that none other than Bascom Lamar Lunsford was the founder of the Festival. He knew just the right song with which to make his debut.

McCutcheon hadn't noticed the wizened gray-haired old man standing just offstage. You guessed it -- Lunsford was not only still alive, but at the Festival. Knowing that might have led McCutcheon to pick a different song. And he certainly wouldn't have regaled the audience with the well-known fact of Lunsford's legacy. But all turned out well. And, as many of McCutcheon's stories end, the two became friends during the "too short" remainder of Lunsford's life.

The story alone would have made me eager to hear the rest of the song. But McCutcheon's commentary sealed the deal. With reference to the lyric of "rooting that mountain down," Mr. McCutcheon said he liked the idea of rooting the mountain down from the bottom up.  "We've learned that nothing trickles down," he said. "It all percolates up."

No song was performed without an explanation of its genesis. McCutcheon talked about reading something in the paper one day and telling his wife about it with a bit of outrage.  "It sounds like a John McCutcheon song to me," she said. "And I know just the person to write it." 

After obliquely commenting that it was a song we needed to hear right now, McCutcheon launched into "Y'All Means All." It's a song about acceptance and caring from the perspective of a Southern grandmother. She invites everyone to her table for supper even--or perhaps especially--those people she doesn't like so much.

What John omitted in his commentary to the politically conservative Charlotte County audience was the content of the article that had inspired the song. It was about the North Carolina law requiring transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates. The White House had revoked the Executive Order on the issue a couple of days before the concert.

Vedran Smailovic in Sarajevo rubble

One of my other favorite songs from the evening was "Streets of Sarajevo." The song was inspired by the actions of Vedran Smailovic, also known as the Cellist of Sarajevo. In 1992, during the Siege of Sarajevo, a bombing killed 22 people standing on a breadline in front of a bakery.  For 22 consecutive days following the bombing, Smailovic exited a nearby building wearing a tuxedo and carrying his cello and a folding chair. He set up his chair and proceeded to play Tomaso Albinoni's "Adagio in G Minor." Soldiers warned him he was making himself a target of sniper attacks, but he persisted until each victim had been ackowledged in this way.

In the song, McCutcheon sings, "And every day he made me wonder/Where did he ever find/The music midst the madness/The courage to be kind."  (To see an incredibly powerful YouTube video set to McCutcheon singing his song, click here.) And while that alone gives me goosebumps, there's more. 

As I said, McCutcheon has a habit of becoming friends with everyone he encounters. The song led to a friendship between McCutcheon and Smailovic. In fact, the two recorded a special version of "Streets of Sarajevo" with Smailovic accompanying McCutcheon on the cello.

One way to get the recording is to buy a copy of McCutcheon's book "Flowers of Sarajevo." The book translates the events depicted in the song into language understandable by children. It also comes with a CD that includes both the McCutcheon/Smailovic collaboration and a performance by Smailovic of the haunting Adagio. Needless to say, I bought a copy.

I suspect it's obvious that I have become a huge John McCutcheon fan. I guarantee that you will as well if you hear John perform. He travels the country, so there's a chance he'll be coming to a location near you no matter where you're located. It is worth making the effort to get there. 

To learn more about McCutcheon and his upcoming appearances, click here.  And to read my story about him in Florida Weekly, click here.






















   

Opa!

It seemed like hyperbole when an organizer told me that attending Greek Fest was like going to Greece for the week-end. Admittedly, I'm not the best judge, since I've never been. But the outing seemed like a pretty good facsimile to me (absent, of course, the Aegean Sea). 

The indentation in my forehead

is not a wrinkle!

The Fest is organized by the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Port Charlotte. Craftily, visitors are funneled through a tchotchke area when they arrive. Bruce made a beeline for the fisherman's caps. I bought a colorful headband of plastic flowers that dug into my forehead and gave me a headache. (It WAS festive, though!) 

With our shopping done, Bruce, Dorrit and I headed off to check out the desserts. We felt like kids in a candy shop as we surveyed our options. Of course there was baklava (and baklava cheesecake and, in another location, baklava sundaes). But there were other exotic treats as well, like galaktoboureko (flavored custard baked in phyllo) and loukoumathes (Greek honey donuts).  Properly sustained, it was time for Dorrit and me to take some dancing lessons.

Pride of Greece Dancers

Dorrit and I quickly picked up the steps to our dance, known as the hasaposerviko. We proved proficient even when executing the "gyro," which is a turning move. (We tried to figure out why it's also the name of a sandwich. Maybe because it's rolled?)

The Pride of Greece Dancers were decked out in elaborate traditional garb. They ranged in age from three years old to just out of college. They were amazing. The older dancers moved fluidly around the dance floor, with their instructor periodically yelling out a celebratory "Opa!"

The Zorba dance

The little ones were too cute for words. Often the dances just called for them to hold hands and circle their way around the dance floor (with more experienced dancers leading the way). They were, however, sometimes called upon to sing and do some more advanced dances -- like the hasaposerviko.  Dorrit and I wanted to join in.

Throughout the dancing, audience members would run up and shower the dancers with dollar bills. This is a traditional way of showing appreciation for the performance. At the end of the number, the dancers picked up the money and put it in a donation bucket.

When the dancers took a well-deserved break, it was time for the grape stomping. Needless to say, Dorrit and I were first in line to participate.

A crusty old guy had the job of washing and drying our feet before we stepped into the grape stomping box. As we squished the grapes, we danced around as much as possible given the tight space. We were exhorted to stomp harder because no juice was coming out of the spigot. Eventually, enough juice flowed to fill a small glass that some of the organizers actually drank. When it was time for other women to have their turn, our feet were washed and dried again, and we slipped back into our shoes. 

Having worked up an appetite, we headed off to get some real food. It was hard to decide what to eat. Moussaka? Souvlaki? Tyropita?  Bruce and Dorrit decided on keptedes, or Greek meatballs.  I opted for some roasted chicken with Greek spices. It was all quite delicious. 

To see our evening in action, click here for Bruce's fun video:  https://vimeo.com/205085002 

Greek Fest will be celebrating its 25th anniversary next year.  I will definitely be back.

Musical Mashup

I spend a lot of time trolling for local outings for my column in Florida Weekly. But with calendars so tight this time of year, I often don't get to the events that have piqued my interest. Happily, I made it to not one, but two, concerts this week. They couldn't have been more different from one another -- and they were both great fun.

Barbra Russell and Ron Sharpe

First up was "Married to Broadway" with Ron Sharpe and Barbra Russell at Burnt Store Presbyterian Church. I'll say upfront that it wouldn't have been my first choice of venue.But the sanctuary holds a lot of people, the seats are reasonably comfortable, and the sound is pretty good. It was standing room only, with my friends Donna and Pete Smart and I getting three of the last five tickets.

The title of the show comes from the way Ron and Barbra met. In the 1990s, Ron played Marius in "Les Mis" on Broadway. (He also was cast as Jean Valjean in the 2010 revival of the show. He is the only actor to have played both roles on Broadway.) Along the way, Barbra took on the role of Cosette. After getting married onstage more than 1,000 times, they decided to do it for real. 

In Married to Broadway, the couple--with their 21-year-old daughter Samantha, Jim Petro and Andre Williams--bring the best of Broadway musicals to stages across America. From the first moment their voices filled the church, I knew they were the real deal.

It was a totally feel good show, with too many great songs to mention. There were numbers from "West Side Story" and "Guys and Dolls" and "South Pacific." It was no surprise that "Les Mis" was heavily featured. Samantha sang "I Had a Dream." (She definitely has her parents' musical genes.)  And the five took on the 40-some person finale to the show with great success.

But the number that keeps coming back to me is the theme song from "Phantom of the Opera." Their rendition was amazing, as Barbra hit every single note. Ron later said the highest note is often played from a recording. No technology was necessary for the Punta Gorda show.

Kristie Bobal, Heather Vidal and Lynley Tolls

The Girlz Rule house concert was about as different a musical outing as you can imagine.  

Sam and Gina Densler moved to Punta Gorda a few years back and started Songwriters Island Radio, an internet radio station. Bringing performers to our area is a natural offshoot of the business.

Their groups are often found at Hurricane Charley's or the Nav-a-Gator. But if you hit it just right, you might luck into a concert at the Songrwriters' Island dock (which just happens to be located at the Denslers' Punta Gorda home.) These concerts are intended to replicate a listening room experience, albeit with the wind blowing through your hair and a sunset for a backdrop. Susan, Steve, Gail and I set up our chairs and settled in to enjoy the show.

Girlz Rule is a trio of musicians who only come together a couple of times a year to perform. Kristie and Lynley heard Heather for the first time a few years ago at a music festival in Manassas, Virginia.They were in awe of her voice (which IS pretty darn awesome.)

As the three sat together, they talked about the fact that women were underrepresented at the festival. Perhaps the three of them could do something to remedy that situation. Girlz Rule was formed on the spot.

The women typically perform with their respective bands around the country, and I'm sure those concerts are great as well. But a Girlz Rule event is definitely worth seeking out.

Unlike Married to Broadway, I didn't recognize their repertoire other than a few cover songs. Instead, we heard songs with titles like "Tired and Sick," "The Eye" and the aptly named "Hell on Heels."  (I loved the refrain in "The Eye" of "You can dance in a hurricane/But only if you're standing in the eye.") And that was just fine with us. After all, we were there to hear songwriters sing their own music.

Girlz Rule will be performing in our area for the next few days. Click here for a schedule and to hear some of their music. 

Five More Things I Learned in Nashville

Nashville schooled me on the ins and outs of country music and more. Here are five more things I learned during my recent visit.

Livingston Taylor

1) Quiet environments with singer-songwriters are more my "thing" than a loud bar on Broadway. (I know this is a real shocker.) And so I loved our visit to the Bluebird Cafe, made universally known by the TV show "Nashville." The concert featured Livingston Taylor (James' brother), Pat Alger, Don Henry and Jon Vezner in the round.

Bluebird Cafe logo

There was definitely a mutual admiration society going on among these guys, with lots of songs written by Alger sung over the course of the evening.  (Alger might be best known for co-writing songs like "Unanswered Prayers" and "The Thunder Rolls" with Garth Brooks before Brooks was a household name.)  There were lots of sweet songs with lyrics about how "ever since the beginning, to keep the world spinning, it takes all kinds of kinds" and "love made a fool of me."  But I like a country music song that makes me laugh, and Alger's rendition of "BFD" by Don Henry and Craig Carothers did just that.  Here's one of the verses:

It ain't no B.F.D he's got his C.M.T
No S E X but that's okay
At least he ain't no S.O.B like that Ph.D
That took his EX and ran off to L.A.

Biscuit Love's bonuts

2) It's hard to find a healthy meal in Nashville. I have to admit, though, that I specifically sought out the most caloric dining experience we had during our visit -- breakfast at Biscuit Love.  What started as a food truck in 2012 has segued into a local hot spot complete with a 45 minute wait (in a light drizzle, I might add).  After a guy in a condo across the way came out with a sign proclaiming "the bonuts are worth the wait," it was a given that we would start off our meal with an order.  In case you're wondering, bonuts are essentially fried doughnut holes made from biscuits and topped with marscapone cheese and blueberry compote. Deadly and delicious. My next course was the East Nasty, which was Bon Appetit's 2015 sandwich of the year.  The sandwich begins with a biscuit and then a fried boneless chicken thigh and sausage gravy are layered on.  In my defense, I didn't have lunch that day.  

3)  The Grand Ol' Opry got its name in an unexpected way. Radio station 650 AM WSM was established in 1925 by an insurance company. ("WSM" stood for "We shield millions.")  A country music show followed an opera program.  The lead in of "You've been listening to that grand old opera" eventually led to the show being called the "Grand Ol' Opry." 

Jackie Lee on the Opry stage

The live radio show lives on today, and Andrea and I took in the Friday night performance.  Being an aging star is not a problem at the Opry, and the host of each half hour segment seemed older than the last.  (Host Bill Anderson, for instance, was inducted into the Opry in 1961. He was adorable.)  Each performer sang two songs and got his or her time in the "circle."  The Opry was originally broadcast from Ryman Auditorium (also known as the "Mother Church of Country Music").  In the 1970s, the concerts were moved to the Opry's current venue for better sound and air conditioning.  A circle of wood from the Ryman stage found a home on the Opry stage, leading to lots of "may the circle be unbroken" comments.

Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner

4)  Dolly Parton has more going on than a pretty face and big hair. (Admit it -- that's not the "big" that you thought of.)  Parton made a name for herself on The Porter Wagoner show, which she co-hosted from 1967-1974.  Their break-up provided the inspiration for her song "I Will Always Love You" (made most famous by Whitney Houston).  Elvis wanted to record the song but would only do so if she gave him half of the rights.  She trusted her business sense and bravely said thanks, but no thanks to the offer.  The song went on to make her over $39 million in performance rights.

5)  While catching a ride with Uber is not unique to Nashville, our trip did introduce me to this way of getting around. My observation is that Uber drivers are much chattier than your typical NYC taxi driver (my point of reference). I think it's because they know your name and therefore feel like you're acquaintances. The driver who dropped us off at Biscuit Love told me that he wanted to "punch me in the face" for going there. I thought it was because he was jealous of our upcoming dining experience.  But no, it was because he thinks Biscuit Love is overhyped and that the biscuits at Burger King are just as good and much cheaper. Coincidentally, he was also our driver to the airport later that day, so I had the opportunity to tell him that we had enjoyed our feast.

As Andrea and I parted at the airport, our consensus was that "we didn't hate" Nashville.  I know, high praise indeed.  Even though it wasn't our favorite destination of all time, it was a wonderful get-away.  We're open to suggestions for next year's adventure.