Almaden AdVentures in the Arts

DEAN COOK

Friday, February 2, 2008 7:30 p.m.

Soup, Salad & Sound Organ Recital. Potluck soup dinner starts at 6:15

Dean Cook returns for an evening of movie music—quite literally. For his encore performance, Mr. Cook will play accompaniment to a silent film, just like in the days before “talkies.” A Bay Area native, Dean heard his first Theatre Organ at the age of three at Ye Olde Pizza Joynt in San Lorenzo. After studying music theory in school, Dean began playing at most of the restaurants and theaters that featured organs, becoming something of a Bay Area fixture, including performing regularly at Angelino’s in San Jose.

WWQ5

Saturday, March 1, 2008 7:30 p.m.

WWQ5

Five members of the San Jose Wind Symphony formed WWQ5 in December of 1996. WWQ5 has performed at San Jose city events like Tapestry and Talent, Music at the SJ Arts Museum, Chinese Summer Festival and Season of Hope at St. Joseph’s Church. WWQ5 will be seen at the Silicon Valley Arts Coalition’ Panorama 2008 for the fourth time on January 25, 2008.WWQ5 is now made up of former and regular musicians from SJWS. Members are: Jan Turnage, flute, a founding member of this group and Executive Director and Piccolo for SJWS, President of Silicon Valley Arts Coalition, player and orchestra manager with area musical theatre, orchestras, church and musical events; Giselle Stancic, clarinet, also a founding member, who now performs with area orchestras and musical events; Lorna Kruse, oboe, a founding member and principal oboe/English horn for SJWS for 45 years; Lynn Burstein, bassoon, a sometimes member of SJWS, currently on the BOD of and player for Mission Chamber Orchestra, she also plays for Palo Alto Philharmonic and Saratoga Symphony; and David Dufour, French horn, currently plays with the Peninsula Symphony and is principal with the Palo Alto Philharmonic.

STEVE KRITZER

Saturday, March 29, 2008 7:30 p.m.

A seasoned performer, award winning songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, the often requested Steve Kritzer is a mainstage regular at the Fiddlers Green Festival in Ireland; the Bluebird Café in Nashville, Tennessee; the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas; and most points in between. A man of many musics, Kritzer is as comfortable with Celtic and Bluegrass as he is with Country, Rock, Big Band Swing, and traditional folk, blending these influences in his own style with a warm, personable stage presence, and amazingly diverse musical talents. In fact Steve performed here last year as part of the group Celtic Heart. His four popular CDs continue to get regular airplay on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition, Steve does about 100 shows a year in retirement and nursing homes, and is a worship leader at St. Edwards Episcopal Church in San Jose. “His hands are around his guitar and his arms are around his audience,” said Radio KEEN’s Lynn Scheinberg. Website

	MARGARET KVAMME
	Saturday, April 5, 2008 7:30 p.m. NEW DATE!!! Former Joint Venture Churches Music Director Margaret Martin Kvamme joins us for a recital featuring the Phoenix Wyvern digital organ she played frequently during her five-year tenure here. Ms. Kvamme was named first-prize winner of the 1993 Naples International Organ Festival Competition in Florida. She has appeared in concert in Ontario, Canada, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Arizona and throughout California. Ms. Kvamme is an honors graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, holds the Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, and Master of Music degrees in Organ Performance and Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan. As a conductor she has directed choirs at the University of California in Santa Cruz, at Marygrove College in Detroit, for the Windsor Symphony in Canada, and the Santa Clara Chorale. Currently Ms. Kvamme is active as a freelance organist and teacher, and is Associate Organist for the Presbyterian Church of Los Gatos. Her debut album, Sevenfold Gifts, was recorded at Holy Cross Church in Santa Cruz last year and is available through albanyrecords.com. Website

MARLEY'S GHOST

Saturday, April 26, 2008 7:30 p.m.

An acoustic brew of rhythm and roots, spiced with distinctive vocal harmonies and multi-instrumental chops. After 21 years as a band, Marley’s Ghost, well-traveled and well-seasoned alike, has earned the mud on its musical boots. Since forming in the mid-80s, this eclectic band of fun-loving bards has built a singular reputation among discerning roots-music lovers for its instrumental virtuosity, ultra-tight four-part harmonies, and animated live performances. Collectively they’re a virtual walking, talking encyclopedia of rhythm and roots, from bluegrass to bagpipes, folk ballad to sea chantey, Nashville twang to Mardi Gras funk, Gospel rave to Celtic reel, and much more. They pick everything from pedal steel and dobro to banjo and mandolin, with an array of fiddles, guitars, keyboards, drums, and various exotic stringed instruments all added to the mix. All this music coheres seamlessly through the filter of the band’s skills and sensibility—a collective vision of all that makes up Americana, fueled by the quintet’s lively nature, witty repartee, and characteristic charm. For its most recent recording, Spooked, Marley’s Ghost enlisted a pair of legendary figures whose idiosyncratic skills beautifully match up with their own–storied producer/arranger/ musician Van Dyke Parks and iconic pop culture artist, R. Crumb. Musically and thematically, it’s clearly the most ambitious project they’ve yet undertaken and one in which their distinctive vocal prowess is on full-bodied display. Website