Outstanding talent to perform at ‘A Concert for Kelly’ benefit
Published on June 6th, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - Kelly Conlon is a 14-year-old girl living in Stoneham who has had lung problems from a very young age. When she turned five, she received a double lung transplant. Unfortunately, after nine years, she is beginning to reject her lungs. Kelly is now on the transplant list for another double lung transplant. A community group guided by an organization called COTA (http://www.cota.org), is in the process of raising $150,000 to help Kelly and the Conlon family with the expenses of the lung transplant. All money raised by the COTA for Kelly campaign goes to paying Kelly’s transplant related expenses. You can learn more about COTA for Kelly on the Web by visiting www.cotafor kelly.com.
As a part of the COTA for Kelly effort, Judy Katz, cofounder of the Full Cup Coffeehouse in Stoneham, has arranged "A Concert for Kelly," a benefit concert to raise money for Kelly. The Stoneham Theatre has kindly donated the use of the theatre for the evening of Monday, June 11, 2001. The following performers will be performing in this concert:
The cast of the Stoneham Middle School Performance of "Kiss Me Kate," the Stoneham Middle School Chamber Group, the Stoneham Middle School Jazz Band, Don White, Mark Kross and Billy Novick, Greg Greenway and Euphoria.
Kelly Conlon is a student at the Stoneham Middle School. The Middle School portion of the performance will begin at 7 p.m. The Stoneham Middle School recently did a wonderful performance of Cole Porter’s "Kiss Me Kate." The cast has agreed to come and perform a few of the more memorable numbers. Mr. Robert Lague, the Fine Arts Director for the Stoneham Public Schools, will be conducting the Middle School Chamber Chorus in a selection of show tunes that should be most enjoyable. The Middle School portion of the program will conclude with a performance by the Middle School Jazz Band under the musical direction of Kross.
The second half of the performance will begin at 8 p.m. and will include White, Kross and Novick, Greenway, and Euphoria.
White combines his own breed of folk music and his well honed comic sense into a performance that has you laughing and then crying in the blink of an eye. This working class family man from Lynn has emerged as a thoughtful songwriter whose relevance to our lives is evidenced by the powerful reaction he evokes at every concert. White illuminates the human experience through his writing and performing. Whether he is singing, speaking, or setting up the sneakiest punch line of the night, White has the hearts of his audience. They know they have his.
Kross and Novick are jazz musicians who have performed extensively, both together and apart. They are among the leaders of the Boston jazz scene. Stoneham resident Kross has been playing the piano since he was six years old. Of his playing, Ray Murphy of the Boston Globe wrote "Mark Kross digs hard with a bright contemporary piano style with Monkish bop influences," while The Jazz Review's Scott Yanow maintains that "Kross' swinging piano...is certainly worthy of our attention." Fred Bouchard of the Boston Phoenix asserts that "His compositions are consistently intriguing...a straight-ahead exploration that is nonetheless a quantum leap from bebop."
"Billy Novick...had he lived in the 1930's, would be a legend," according to the Boston Globe. Novick is a master of the clarinet and saxophone who conjures up images of what it must have been like to listen to some of the greats like Benny Goodman and Sydney Bechet. Billy performs a blend of swing and classic jazz with long time partner Guy van Duser, is a member of the famed New Black Eagle Jazz Band, with whom he has toured the world, and is a member of Kross’ five piece band. Although jazz has always been his first love, he takes pride in being able to play a wide range of musical styles. His versatility has enabled him to have a very active career as a studio musician. He has been featured on more than 250 recordings, and he has performed, arranged and composed music for countless movie and television soundtracks.
Known as a one man tour-de-force, Greg Greenway is a formidable presence in the modern singer-songwriter arena. He is a powerhouse singer and guitarist with a notable talent for expressing universal emotions in personal frames, and a songwriter whose melodies resonate in your head for days. He has been described as "one of the strongest, and finest voices in folk music." The Boston Globe wrote, "He made his mark on the national folk scene with the foot-stomping passion of his shows, but also with a winning and credible between-song intimacy." His performances take listeners on musical journeys tracing his many varied influences; the passion of Richie Havens, the lyrical guitar of James Taylor, and the rhythmic politics of Peter Gabriel.
EUPHORIA are Julia Poirier, soprano; Eve Goldfarb, mezzo; David Traugot, tenor; and Julian Cole, bass. They are an acapella jazz quartet that began in 1992 as a group of friends making good music together while enjoying each other's company. Their style is informal, informative and fun. They perform a wide variety of music: vocal jazz, contemporary, swing, bop, folk and pop. Each of the members of Euphoria has extensive musical experience and brings a unique perspective and special talents to the quartet's sound.
Tickets are $12 for general admission and $7 for seniors and students. Advance sale tickets will be available at the Stoneham Public Library and the Stoneham Chamber of Commerce, 269 Main Street. Tickets will be available at the Stoneham Theatre Box Office on the evening of the performance.
Before the performance and during intermission hot hors d’oeuvres, snacks, baked goods and refreshments will be available for purchase. During the intermission a raffle will be held and called by Reps. Casey and Festa. Raffle items include a pair of tickets to a performance of "Blue Man Group" along with a blue man group CD and T-Shirt; a pair of Red Sox Tickets (valued at $50 each) donated by Mike Flynn; a Variflex Stinger Scooter, donated by Jared Katz; a Commonwealth of Massachusetts watch donated by State Representative Paul Casey; and a six-month family membership to the Crowne Plaza Pool courtesy of the Crowne Plaza in Woburn. Advance sale raffle tickets will be available beginning this week at Rejuvenation Day Spa, 455 Main Street, Stoneham. All proceeds from the evening’s events will be donated to COTA for Kelly to help with Kelly’s transplant related medical expenses.
With the diverse talents of the assembled performers, "A Concert for Kelly" promises to be an evening of great music. The added dimension of helping Kelly Conlon and her family pay the medical expenses of her double lung transplant promises to turn an otherwise dull Monday evening into a magical night.
For further information, send e-mail to jmk@alum.mit.edu or call Judy Katz at 781-438-8356
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!