Archives: Events

• S’Wonderful!…The Music of George Gershwin and Cole Porter
• The Swinging 60’s…a bit of all things musically from the Peace and Love Decade

Dave Powers
For over 46 years, two-time EMMY® Award winning composer and performer Dave Powers (left) has been a vital part of the Columbus, Ohio and Southwest Florida music scene as a pianist, keyboardist, vocalist, entertainer and educator. Dave has traveled and performed nationally and internationally. Dave is a consultant and a frequent guest of the Public Television Show “The Piano Guy” and has taught a series of master classes with “Piano Guy” host Scott Houston. Dave is also an adjunct faculty member of The Ohio State University School of Music. Considered one of the most successful musicians in the Midwest, Dave manages to win over the hearts of all who hear him perform. From concerts to clubs and restaurants to corporate events and private parties, his vast repertoire is as diverse as the audience that he entertains.

Dave has performed with noted performers such as Steve Allen, George Benson, Rusty Bryant, Buddy DeFranco, Mark Farner (of Grand Funk Railroad), Eric Gale, Terry Gibbs, Ernie Krivda, Wilbert Longmire, Johnny Lytle, ‘Blue’ Lou Marini (of the Blues Brothers), Joan Rivers, Arturo Sandoval, Grover Washington, Jr. and many others. In addition, Dave is associated with the Jazz Arts Group of Columbus, and performs with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. Dave’s recordings can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and CD’s are available at davepowers.com.

Louis Tsamous (right) grew up in Cambridge, OH and began playing the drums at age 10.  He has since become one of the most versatile and active musicians in America.  He has toured Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean and has recorded and performed with jazz artists Stanley Turrentine, Etta Jones, Jimmy McGriff, Dr. Lonnie Smith, David “Fathead” Newman, Joey DeFrancesco,Pat Martino,Blue Lou Marini, Kevin Mahogany and Joan Rivers among others. Louis has also worked with Motown legend Mary Wilson.

He played in the Ohio State University Jazz Ensemble while a student at OSU and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1982.

In addition to performing with various groups in the Midwest, Louis has done clinics at many high schools and universities across the country. Louis has been touring and recording with jazz organ sensation Tony Monaco since 1999 and is featured on six national releases on The Summit record label.

Explore Rancho La Puerta’s Night Sky
The dark skies at the Ranch provide a fabulous opportunity for seeing wonders such as the Milky Way, Ptolemy cluster (a collection of 80 stars scintillating like diamonds), meteors, satellites, Saturn and its rings, the Lagoon nebula (a stellar nursery), and more! Participate in another magical part of the Ranch experience. You will never look at the night sky the same way again.

Star Gazing
Observe with the naked eye, binoculars and telescope

Musical Miniatures
Calm, soothing musical gems. Come and relax after a busy morning and before lunch to feed your mind and soul with the sounds of short masterpieces for piano.

Viva Vivaldi!
Hear “The Four Seasons” with a fresh perspective as Scott Marrone leads us through this most popular of musical works. You will never hear it the same way again! Discover the creativity and ingenuity found in Vivaldi’s delightful masterpiece.  While the immediate impression of this great work is a set of four violin concertos, closer examination reveals a wealth of symbolism and actual story lines within the musical themes and various movements. Join Scott Marrone as we listen to and explore the program contained in these beloved musical gems. Find a new way to hear and understand this classic work, making it more personal, concrete, and enjoyable!

 John Scott Marrone has over 30 years of experience teaching in the New York area. In addition to Astronomy, Scott teaches Forensics, Environmental Studies, and Oceanography. He has been recognized by Ciba-Geigy Corporation for his work in promoting science literacy and received the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in 2007 from Manhattan College. In 1998, Scott was invited by the Aruban Government to substitute for astronomer Jay Pasachoff to lead the observation of the total solar eclipse.  Most recently, Scott led the public observing session on Mauna Kea.  Scott has also led observing on cruises in the Galapagos and Tahiti.

In the musical arena, John Scott Marrone has been recognized as an outstanding conductor and director of many musical organizations. His experience covers the entire spectrum of orchestral and choral music from Renaissance to Contemporary, leading an impressive array of performing organizations both in the United States and Europe. In addition to his own Allegro Chamber Ensemble, Mr. Marrone has worked with the English Chamber Orchestra, Solisti di Roma, Orchestre de Paris, Oratorio Society of New York, Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut, Greenwich Choral Society, and many other organizations including concerts and tours. His choir performed for Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Basilica and at the papal audience before 250,000 people in Rome. With the Allegro Chamber Ensemble, Mr. Marrone performed a series of concerts at the Salzburg Music Festival, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, and at the Sainte Chapelle in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Paris. With his choirs he has conducted at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Westminster Abbey in London, the Duomo in Florence and many other locations throughout Europe. Mr. Marrone holds a Professional Diploma in Piano from the Brooklyn Conservatory and a Master’s in Conducting from Columbia University.

When it comes to black music, Washington, D.C. produces its share of game-changers. That long list includes Duke Ellington, Chuck Brown, Marvin Gaye, Shirley Horn, Roberta Flack, Bad Brains, Meshell Ndegeocello, Wale, and Oddisee. You can add Ben Williams to that venerated roster.

For more than a decade, Williams has steadily become one of the most acclaimed and versatile bassists in modern jazz. In 2009, he won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. He has performed/recorded with such giants as Pat Metheny, George Benson, Stefon Harris, David Sanborn, Lauryn Hill, Wynton Marsalis, Robert Glasper, Maxwell, and Nicholas Payton. In 2013 and 2015 Williams received the DownBeat Magazine Critics Poll Rising Star Award for Bass. Williams became a “Rising Star” when he won the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition Award that landed him his first record-deal with Concord Records. Thereafter, he recorded and released State of Art in 2011 with his band, Sound Effect. The Album received an impressive 4.5 Star Review in DownBeat Magazine and reached #1 on the charts of iTunes and the National BillBoard. He was named the 2011 iTtunes Breakthrough Artist of the Year in the category of jazz.

As a leader, Williams revealed his talents as a keen composer and bandleader on his first two Concord Records albums – State of Art (2011) and Coming of Age (2015). As gripping as those albums are, they don’t prepare you for Williams’ newest album, I AM A MAN, released Rainbow Blonde, a new imprint co-owned by singer, songwriter, and kindred spirit, José James. Sonically, the new album departs grandly from the mostly acoustic instrumental settings of his previous albums. Williams imbued his love for modern R&B and hip-hop and his socio-political awareness subtly on State of Art and Coming of Age. But on I AM A MAN, he brings them to the fore with mesmerizing vocal-centric songs that will surely raise his profile higher in modern soul and rap circles.

With the help from sound engineer Brian Bender, I AM A MAN boasts a humid and hazy sound that recalls Soulaquarian albums released by The Roots, Erykah Badu, Bilal, D’Angelo, Common, and Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor. “I wanted to make this not just a musical statement, but sonically, I wanted to dig into a different sound. We had the opportunity to work in the studio to craft some sounds. What you hear is Brian’s brilliance with engineering. I wanted this record to deal with the past, present, and future,” Williams says.

https://www.benwilliamsofficial.com/

Billy Childs has emerged as one of the foremost American composers of his era, successfully marrying the musical products of his heritage with the Western neoclassical traditions of the twentieth century in a powerful symbiosis of style, range, and dynamism.

Thus far, in his career, Childs has garnered seventeen Grammy nominations and six Grammy awards including two for Best Instrumental Jazz Album (Winds of Change in 2024 and Rebirth in 2018), and two for Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist (including New York Tendaberry from Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro, featuring Renee Fleming and Yo-Yo Ma). In 2006, Childs was awarded a Chamber Music America composer’s grant, and in 2009 was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.  In 2013 he was awarded the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award.  He has also been awarded a composers award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2015).  In 2018, Childs was named “Outstanding Alumnus” of the Thornton School of Music (sharing that honor with, among others, Morton Lauridsen, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Marilyn Horne).  Childs has also served as president of Chamber Music America (2016-2022).

Born in Los Angeles, he entered USC as a composition major, graduating four years later with a bachelor of music in composition under the tutelage of Robert Linn. Since then Mr. Childs has received a number of orchestral and chamber commissions from, among others: Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Slatkin, the Los Angeles Master Chorale,  Monterey Jazz Festival, the Dorian Wind Quintet, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the American Brass Quintet, the Ying Quartet, the Lyris Quartet, Anne Akiko Meyers, Rachel Barton Pine, and Inna Faliks.

As a pianist Childs has performed with, among others, Freddie Hubbard, J.J. Johnson, Yo-Yo Ma, Sting, Renee Fleming, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony, Chick Corea, the Kronos Quartet, Wynton Marsalis, Jack DeJohnette, the Dorian Wind Quintet, Ying Quartet, the American Brass Quintet, and Dave Holland.

Childs’ solo jazz recording career includes four critically acclaimed albums on the Windham Hill Jazz label and two volumes of Chamber Jazz music (Lyric, Vol. 1, 2006 and Autumn: In Moving Pictures, Vol. 2, 2010). Childs expanded upon his talent for seamlessly straddling the lines between jazz and classical worlds with a collection of re-imagined Laura Nyro compositions for Sony Masterworks, released in September 2014.  Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro, was produced by Larry Klein and features as guest artists, among others: Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Wayne Shorter, Alison Kraus, Dianne Reeves, Chris Botti, Esperanza Spalding, and Lisa Fischer.  In 2017, Childs released the first of his three Mack Avenue recordings, the Grammy Award-winning Rebirth, which was followed by 2020’s Acceptance and 2023’s Grammy Award-winning The Winds of Change.

Childs is an in-demand clinician, whose recent invitations include working with students at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, masterclasses at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany, and an educational residency at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.

https://billychilds.com/

Peter Bradley Adams was one half of the duo, Eastmountainsouth, signed to Dreamworks records in 2003 by Robbie Robertson (The Band). Adams has since released seven solo records, with his latest “Are We Able” set to be released this summer. In addition, his side project, “Down Like Silver”, a collaboration with singer-songwriter Caitlin Canty, has released 2 EP’s and numerous singles.

IG @PeterBradleyAdams

https://www.peterbradleyadams.com/

Joy Clark is a New Orleans singer-songwriter, lyrical guitarist and composer who creates soulful original compositions that celebrate peace and the undeniable power of love. Her intricate rhythms and warm melodies reveal a sweet vulnerability that enchants her audiences around the world. Like so many other artists in New Orleans, Joy’s first stage was in church. Growing up the daughter of a minister, she learned to create an atmosphere ripe for an emotional experience. So it’s no wonder she believes music is her ministry and intimacy is her superpower. Joy’s melodic offerings are a healing balm to an anxious heart. Each song welcomes the close listener in with open arms always beckoning truth, authenticity and courage to tell one’s story. The Boot says “Joy’s music is rhythmic like the pulling of a tide”. Her latest single “Good Thing” beautifully captures her craft and depth of artistry and musicianship and has garnered radio play along with an official video debut with DittyTV. Joy can also be seen on tour with 3X Grammy Award nominee, Allison Russell in her ensemble of phenomenal artists. 2022 has brought beautiful beginnings for Joy.

I love boots, guitars, mangoes, horses, jasmine blossoms, road trips, cloud watching, donuts and my family. I believe in the power of inner peace. I understand the glory of a righteous twist out. I make time to marvel at the mysteries of the world around me. I pour my fears and anxiety into vectors for healing. Pedicures make me giggle but music is my gateway to happiness.

IG: @JoyClarkMusic

From Paris to the Tropics: French and Latin American Piano Music, with Juan Pablo Andrade

French Reverie: An Evening for Cello and Piano, with Kevin Mills and Linda Chavez

Juan Pablo Andrade, Juan Pablo Andrade is a renowned Costa Rican pianist with a dynamic stage and academic presence. He has earned top honors at international competitions and the Costa Rican National Prize of Music, and has performed widely as a soloist with various orchestras and at major festivals. A familiar ear with the Costa Rican National Symphony, he has toured the Americas and Europe, and his CD War to Peace received favorable reviews. In academia, he is a Professor of Piano at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and has taught at several prestigious universities. He also volunteers at international festivals and founded the La Frontera International Piano Conference in Brownsville, Texas, to foster musical exchange in the region.

Linda Chávez is a distinguished Mexican-American pianist with degrees from the University of Texas at Brownsville and Longy School of Music. A laureate of numerous awards and scholarships, she excels in both performance and education. She has performed at international festivals across Costa Rica, Italy, Aruba, Austria, Puerto Rico, and Lincoln Center, where she joined the Teaching Artist Program to inspire others. Currently the principal pianist of the Valley Symphony Orchestra, she founded the Brownsville Piano Studio, serving over 225 students weekly, and launched Ananda Music Experience, an online program for adult women learning music mindfully. Chávez continues to inspire and effect positive change through her music.

Kevin Mills is a cellist from Orange County, California who studied under Darrett Adkins at both The Juilliard School and Oberlin Conservatory receiving his Masters in Cello Performance and Artist Diploma respectively. Kevin received his Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from California State University of Fullerton and has toured, taught, and performed nation-wide and abroad in Denmark, Korea, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and Hungary.