News Releases

CONCORD, NH – The Concord Community Music School is pleased to host David Coffin, New England’s own “Shanty Man,” on Saturday, January 15th from 9 am to 4 pm for a Sea Shanty and Whaling Song Workshop. Open to singers of all abilities, this unique workshop will bring work songs of the Old New England sea coast alive! Pre-registration is due on or before January 4th and can be made by contacting Steve Allman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

David Coffin has performed throughout New England since 1980.  Adept at firing up a crowd to sing, and widely known for his rich baritone voice, David’s dynamically interactive style has inspired novice musicians and "wowed" more advanced students.  At the heart of David's work is traditional and contemporary folk and maritime music from North America, England, Scotland, Ireland and Brittany.

The Concord Community Music School is located at 23 Wall Street in downtown Concord. For more information and directions, call (603) 228-1196 or visit www.ccmusicschool.org .

CONCORD, NH – The Musicians of Wall Street Jazz Ensemble will present their annual Jazz in January cabaret-style evening with two shows on Friday, January 21, at 7 pm & 9 pm.  As the audience savors food courtesy of Hermanos Cocina Mexicana, they will hear Marsalis, Monk and more, including a few originals by the band.

Named for its downtown Concord location, the Musicians of Wall Street Jazz Ensemble is comprised of the Concord Community Music School’s jazz faculty: David Tonkin, guitar; Richard Gardzina and Matt Langley, saxophones; Tom Robinson, keyboards; Don Williams, bass; and John Faggiano and Tim Gilmore, drums. All have performed, individually and together, throughout New England, in New York City and at jazz festivals around the nation.

The Music School wishes to thank Hermanos Cocina Mexicana for food and beverages. Tickets may be bought in advance for $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors.  The shows take place at the Concord Community Music School’s Community Room, with entrances on Fayette and Wall streets. For tickets and more information call 603-228-1196. Tickets may also be purchased on-line at www.ccmusicschool.org.

THE ARTISTS:

John Faggiano (percussion) trained at Acadia University and Berklee College of Music with further studies in Orff-Schulwerk at University of Lowell and in African and Afro-Latin music with Nuru. A student of Ed Nicholas, Gary Chaffee and Alan Dawson, he has performed at the Blue Note in NYC and the Saratoga and White Mountain Jazz Festivals.  A member of the Musicians of Wall Street Jazz Ensemble, he is a founding member of the performance group “Applehead.” A twenty-year veteran of the band “The Knights,” John has performed shows with the Drifters as well as Gary Chaffee and Pat Metheny. He can also be heard on many recordings recently, with the Dave Tonkin Group, Steve Schuch and on Peggo and Paul’s award-winning CD, Patchwork Quilt.

Richard Gardzina (saxophone) received his B.A. in Music Composition from North Texas State University and his M.A. in Music Composition from UNH with further study at the Berklee College of Music. He is a producer, recording engineer and owner of Sound Experience recording studio and has composed works for various film companies in Los Angeles and NY, NYC choreographer Dianne Eno, NH Theater Project, Pontine Movement Theatre, Arthur Hall Dance Company, and NH Dance Alliance. Richard has composed and produced over 125 songs for children, and composed and produced 50 Songs for Social Dance as well as recorded two CDs of original jazz compositions, Play This and Imaginings. With forty years of performing experience in NH, Texas, Los Angeles. Richard is on the faculty of New England College as well as the Music School.

Tim Gilmore (percussion) received a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Ed/Music from Salem State College and studied further in composition and performance programs at Berklee College of Music. He is a member of the Harry Skoler Jazz Quartet with Brownstone Recording Artists and has performed with such groups as the Cape Ann Symphony, the Symphony by the Sea, the Paul Madore Chorale, the Boston Percussion Ensemble and the Cambridge Harmonic Orchestra. He has also performed with Lester Bowie, Marion McPartland, Tower of Power, Tiger Okoshi, and Warren Vache. Some of his recordings include “A Work of Heart,” “Reflections on the Art of Swing” and “Conversations in the Language of Jazz” on Brownstone Records.

Matt Langley (saxophone) has studied with Lou Marini of Saturday Night Live, David Baker, Ted Dunbar, and Stan Strickland. Since 1988, he has been a member of the Charlie Kohlhase Quintet (CKQ), recording three CDs on the Accurate Label. CKQ has toured the United States extensively, performing in jazz festivals from the Boston Globe Festival to the Rutabega Jazz Jam in Knoxville, Illinois, and giving clinics, master classes and individual lessons. CKQ’s fourth CD, Dancing on my Bedpost, showed up on the top ten lists of many jazz critics in 1999 and their fifth CD is currently awaiting release on the NADA label.  Matt’s recording sessions have included ones with Ron Carter, John Medeski, Billy Martin, Chris Wood, Roswell Rudd, and many others. Matt performs regularly with Tonkin Toys and teaches at the Music School.

Tom Robinson (piano) received a B.M. in Jazz Studies from Capital University, Columbus, Ohio. He has studied saxophone with Michael Cox, and piano with Mark Flugge and Joe Hunter. He was selected for Ohio Music Educator's All-State College Jazz Ensemble in 1992-1993. Tom performs throughout New England as a sideman with several jazz groups as well as leading and writing for his own trio.

David Tonkin (guitar) has studied jazz guitar with Ed Cory, Jay Azzolina, and Randy Roos. Chair of the Music School’s Jazz Department, he has worked with the NH Artists in the Schools Program, led workshops at the Lincoln Center Institute at Dartmouth College, and taught at UNH Manchester. He performs throughout New England as a soloist, studio musician, and as a member of Straight No Chaser. He is also the founder of the David Tonkin Group and Tonkin Toys. Tonkin performed in two sold-out performances with Straight No Chaser at the well-known New York City jazz club, The Blue Note, and at the Saratoga Jazz Festival. An active composer, his work has been heard on radio and television throughout the area.

Don Williams (bass) received a B.S. in Music Education at Plymouth State College, with further study in the M.F.A. program in music at the University of New Hampshire. He performs often with Raccoon Beach, Tonkin Toys, Plymouth State College Faculty Quartet, and the Loli Sterling Group. He has appeared at The Blue Note, Rainbow Room, and Saratoga Jazz Festival, and has performed with the Platters, Randy Brecker, Jack Wilkins, and Bob Guilotti. He is also on the faculty of SAU#48 and Plymouth State College.

CONCORD, NH – The annual Piano Workshop Week, Dec. 6-10, at the Concord Community Music School will include free, public sessions for all ages and levels, including sessions on Women Composers, Performance Anxiety, Problem Solving for Pianists, Musical Form, and “Playing Inside and Outside the Piano.”

In addition to workshops designed to explore a particular component of piano practice, like problem solving, there will be a “Great Scale Bee” – a chance to demonstrate on the keyboard just how much you know about the language of music.  “Name That Tune” will give students from age nine and up an opportunity to learn about famous composers and their compositions – all in a fun setting! Class will start by listening to famous classical compositions and coming up with ways to recognize and remember them. Participants will then be split into teams to test their knowledge. “Nervous Nellies,” for adult students, gives beginning to intermediate students a chance to play for one another in a small group setting. Back by popular demand, two sessions of African Drumming will allow participants the chance to explore music through rhythm and ensemble.

Many performance classes will be held throughout the week, designed to reach all ages and levels of piano students, including adults and children at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels.  Performance classes are conducted in a master class format, or “public lesson,” in which the teacher works with pre-selected performers on stage in a way designed to provide learning for observers in the audience.

Workshop Weeks, free and open to the public, are held throughout the year by the Music School’s faculty. Woodwind Department Workshops are scheduled for the week of January 10, 2010 and the String Department will hold its workshop series the week of April 18, 2010. Call the Music School for more information, 603-228-1196, or visit the website www.ccmusicschool.org.

The full schedule for the Piano Workshop Week is listed below, with levels of advancement and ages, if applicable, indicated. All workshops are free with the exception of Monday’s Performance Anxiety Workshop, which requires pre-registration:

Monday, December 6
4:00 pm  “Once Upon a Time:” Adventures in Improvisation (Ages 7 – 9) - Aurora Manzanero-Lopez
4:00 pm  Performance Workshop (Ages 6 – 10, Elementary – Early Intermediate) - Jacqueline Morin
5:00 pm  Advanced Performance Class - Gregg Pauley
5:00 pm  “Abracadabra:” Adventures in Listening (Ages 7 – 9) - Aurora Manzanero-Lopez
5:00 pm  Duet and Chamber Music Workshop (Elementary – Early Intermediate)  - Nancy Colter
6:00 pm  Nervous Nellies (Beginning to Intermediate Adult Students) - Abigail Charbeneau
  (No observers, please)
7:30 pm  Performance Anxiety Workshop for Adults - Lynn Lyons, MSW
  (pre-registration necessary ; available on-line at www.ccmusicschool.org
    or by calling (603) 228-1196; $25 fee)

Tuesday, December 7
4:00 pm Playing Inside and Outside the Piano (Ages 5 – 7) - Rebecca Herst
4:00 pm Women Composers: History and Performance (Ages 12 and up) - Abigail Charbeneau
5:00 pm Playing Inside and Outside the Piano (Ages 8 – 10) - Rebecca Herst  
5:00 pm Name that Tune!: Recognizing Famous Pieces (Ages 9 and up) - Jacqueline Morin
6:00 pm Nervous Nellies (Beginning to Intermediate Adult Students) - Abigail Charbeneau
 (No observers, please)

Wednesday, December 8 
4:00 pm Intermediate through Advanced Performance Class (Ages 10 and up)  - Catharine Dornin
4:00 pm The Great Scale Bee (Ages 8 - 12) - Anita Yu
4:00 pm Playing Inside and Outside the Piano (Ages 8 – 10) - Rebecca Herst
5:00 pm Name that Tune!: Recognizing Famous Pieces (Ages 9 and up) - Jacqueline Morin
5:00 pm Musical Form: The Paper Plate Orchestra (Ages 8 – Adult) - Peggy Senter
6:00 pm Keyboard Skills (Intermediate to Advanced, all ages) - Peggy Senter
6:00 pm Problem Solving for Pianists (Ages 13 – Adult) - Kathryn Southworth 

Thursday, December 9
4:00 pm African Drumming Class (Any age up to 13) - Grace and Lindsey Schust
4:00 pm The Great Scale Bee (Ages 8 – 12) - Anita Yu
4:00 pm Intermediate Performance Class  - Kathryn Southworth and/or other faculty
5:00 pm Duet and Chamber Music Workshop (Ages 13 and up) - Nancy Colter
5:00 pm Integrated Arts Recital Performance Class - Catharine Dornin and Kathryn Southworth
5:15 pm African Drumming Class (Ages 13 and up) - Grace and Lindsey Schust
6:00 pm Playing Inside and Outside the Piano (Ages 10 – 13) - Rebecca Herst
7:15 pm Night at the Movies (Teens, Adults, and Faculty) - Kathryn Southworth
   
Friday, December 10
4:00 pm Intermediate/Advanced Performance Class - Paul Dykstra
4:00 pm Name that Tune!: Recognizing Famous Pieces (Ages 9 and up) - Jacqueline Morin

CONCORD, NH – In what has become a favorite tradition, the Concord Community Music School invites you to usher in the holiday season with its annual Christmas Folk Concert featuring David Surette, Susie Burke and Kent Allyn. The concert is scheduled for 7:30 pm, Saturday, Dec 11, in the Music School’s Recital Hall at 23 Wall Street in Concord.

The concert will feature vocal and instrumental arrangements of Christmas carols and seasonal songs, along with folk and acoustic fare from their standard repertoire. With influences and styles ranging from folk to jazz, Celtic to rock, blues to Broadway and beyond, this trio presents the seasonal repertoire with warmth, flair and energy.

Surette’s technique on guitar, banjo and other instruments is “impeccable, and his touch and phrasing are immediately recognizable,” according to Acoustic Guitar. Burke “possesses one of the finest, purest ballad sopranos heard in folk music today,” reported The Boston Globe. Allyn, called “everyone’s favorite sideman,” has played piano, bass and guitar in numerous recordings and with a host of performing artists from around the country. Burke and Surette perform regularly throughout New England and have toured nationally. They have more than half a dozen CDs between them and have collected numerous awards.

Surette and Allyn are members of the Concord Community Music School faculty. This year’s folk department concerts are sponsored by Sanborn, Head & Associates, Inc.

Get your tickets soon, as this performance frequently sells out. Tickets cost $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors, and may be bought at the door or in advance at the Music School. For more information, call (603) 228-1196 or visit www.ccmusicschool.org where tickets are also available for purchase.
 
About the artists:
Warmth, vitality, and spontaneity mark the performances of Susie Burke and David Surette, and have earned them a reputation as one of the finest acts on the lively New England folk scene. Susie’s beautiful, complex voice and David’s graceful, nimble-fingered string playing combine with extraordinary results on their own blend of contemporary, traditional, and original folk and acoustic music. Together since 1988, Susie and David have built a steady following for their music, a following that is continuing to grow with the release of their When the Small Birds Sweetly Sing CD in 2008. Recipients of Individual Artist Fellowship awards from the NH State Council on the Arts, Susie and David are also on the Council's Touring Arts roster. Between their solo and duo projects, they have released eight albums since 1990 on the Madrina Music label, to positive response from both critics and audiences. Together, they bring skill, taste, feeling, and pure enjoyment to their music, and are bringing their music to an ever-widening circle of listeners.

Kent Allyn is widely considered to be everyone’s favorite sideman by both audiences and performers. In addition to his work with Susie and David, his long list of recording and performing credits includes Ben Baldwin & the Big Note, Cosy Sheridan, Brooks Williams, and The Night Heron Consort, to name just a few. Kent is on the faculty of the Music School and also teaches at Berwick Academy in South Berwick, Maine.