The musical stylings of four unique artists will grace the auditorium stage of Montezuma-Cortez High School for the 59th season of the Southwest Colorado Concert Series. In celebration of song, dance and theater, the 2012-2013 year is sure to be promising and joyful for all ages.
Whatever your musical vice may be, these concerts wont disappoint.
Joyce Stevenson is the publicity chair for the concert series. She is excited to see how the audiences react to this years choices.
We focus on developing an audience of all ages, she said. We want everyone to be excited about music and it also gives the older crowd a place thats close to home to have a night out they wouldnt normally have.
Tonight, New Odyssey will start off the series with their renditions of classic rock, country, special arrangements and novelty. This trio is comprised of three friends delivering 30 years of musical performances together. Gary Todd, Michael Jay and Gary Polkow all specialize in entertainment. Between the three men, a total of 30 instruments are used during one performance. Look forward to classic songs such as Proud Mary, Ring of Fire and Satisfaction. The group has been musically trained since they were youngsters and are best known for their audience engagement.
In November, audiences can experience a taste of Irish entertainment with Cahal Dunne. Dunne is a native from Cork County, Ireland and is known as Irelands Happy Man. Audiences will be surprised at the talent of this one individual who is a composer, pianist, comedian, story teller and television personality.
March 2013 will begin the spring shows, starting with Classical Gas. Rich Ridenour, pianist, and Steve Brook, violinist, make up the comedic duo to perform an Abbott and Costello-like show. They will perform classical songs from Beethoven and Debussy.
We always try to have at least one classical music act, Stevenson said. One that is an attraction for the kids and is a genre that you dont find around here.
The last show is the most different of all and concentrates mostly on singing and dance. Tap dancing duo, Two on Tap, will end the series in April. Melissa Giattino and Ron DeStefano are lifelong friends combining a lifelong love of dance. They are versed in the early days of Broadway and will be performing classic broadway hits such as I Got Rhythm and Yes Sir, Thats My Baby. Theyll be singing and tap dancing their way through each musical hit.
Stevenson says the series brings in national and international artists through Allied Concert Services, so the community can get a taste of entertainment that would be hard to find in this area.
Last year, they averaged over 350 people who turned out for the concerts. Their highest in one night was about 400. Stevenson said that Walmart awarded the concert series a grant of $1,000 for their Inspiring Students Through Music program. This grant allows them to provide free show tickets to area music teachers and their students. After this was initiated, they started to see an increase in kids attending the concerts.
The music teacher at Manaugh Elementary has great success motivating her students to do well on a test by offering each student who made a 100, the chance to go to a concert with her, Stevenson said. The Community Banks of Dove Creek have been providing tickets to the Dove Creek music teacher for several years now. Stevenson is happy to receive these grants so they can expand to Cortez, Dolores and Mancos.
This year they (Walmart) are giving us another grant for $1,500 and the Ballantine Family Fund is giving us a grant of $1,000. So maybe those attendance numbers will go up again.
Stevenson and the rest of the concert chair members have already decided on the artists for the 2013-2014 year. They are incredibly excited for the upcoming year since it will be their 60th anniversary in bringing these entertaining and affordable concerts to the area.
Each concert for the 2012-2013 year is scheduled to be held at the M-CHS auditorium. The shows will be at 7 p.m. with the November show at 3 p.m. Single show admission is $20 for adults and $5 for youth 18 and under. Season tickets for adults are $45 and $5 for youth 18 and under. Season tickets can also be used to attend concerts in Delta, Colo. and Gallup, N.M.
For more information on the artists mentioned, visit alliedconcertservices.com. Contact Joyce Stevenson at 565-4757 or Paul Bostrom at 565-9127 for more information on purchasing tickets.
rachels@cortezjournal.com