Spencer Area Concert Association

2008–2009 Concert Series

Click here to download a copy of the 2008–2009 season brochure.

All series concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.

Auditorium concerts take place at the old Spencer High School Auditorium, 104 East Fourth Street (formerly known as the “Old Middle School Auditorium”).

Todd Green

Saturday, September 20, 2008
Auditorium

Todd Green is a uniquely talented multi-instrumental solo artist who performs nationally. His original music is an eclectic blend of classical, jazz, new age, and world music. In addition to performing solo guitar pieces in many different styles, he uses digital samplers to record and overdub himself live on stage to, in effect, become a one-man-orchestra of unique and exotic instruments from all over the world. As Todd takes his audience on a fascinating tour of many countries and their diverse styles of music, he intersperses his playing with entertaining and informative explanations of the music and the instruments. Regardless of your musical interests and background, Todd Green’s concert is a uniquely gratifying experience with elements of both the familiar and the unfamiliar, and promises to broaden everyone’s musical horizons in an unforgettable way.

Click here to visit Todd Green’s Web site.

Crosswinds Trio

Saturday, October 25, 2008
Grace United Methodist Church

Crosswinds Trio consists of Gary Ross on trumpet, Lawrence Kursar on horn, and Michael Toth on piano. The three men draw on their diverse musical backgrounds and experiences from the orchestral stage, jazz clubs, and recital halls to create a refreshing sound. Michael Toth made his debut at age fourteen at Carnegie Recital Hall, Lawrence Kursar served as stage conductor for the Bolshoi Ballet, and Garry Ross has performed with such celebrities as Liberace, Bobby Vinton, and Barry White. Their expressive and inspiring playing, coupled with diverse programming infused with humor, has brought them rave reviews and standing ovations. With over 200 innovative arrangements, the Crosswinds Trio has established a previously unexplored musical genre. It will perform “Winds Across Time,” an appealing virtuosic program of different styles and genres from classical to jazz—and everything in between!

Click here to visit the Crosswinds Trio’s Web site.

Acoustic Eidolon

Saturday, November 20, 2008
Auditorium

When Acoustic Eidolon made their Iowa debut at a Spencer house concert in September 2007, the audience clamored for them to come back and play in a larger venue. We are delighted to have them return to Spencer, this time to appear on the stage of the Auditorium, where they can share their spellbinding music with a larger audience. Joe Scott plays the double-neck guitjo—a combination of the guitar and banjo—and his wife Hannah Alkire plays the cello. Joe was already winning regional bluegrass festivals by the age of sixteen. He later toured with the New Christy Minstrels. In 1985 Joe returned to his native Colorado to start the group Wind Machine. Hanna began studing the cello at age eight. She has put her classical training to use as a member of symphony orchestras, and was a founding membre of the Anasazi String Quartet. In 1998 Joe and Hannah formed Acoustic Eidolon. Their music borrows from Celtic, contemporary, bluegrass, and Latin influences. As a bonus, they will play selections from their holiday CD—which has already become a favorite among the audience members who heard them when they were first in Spencer.

Click here to visit Acoustic Eidolon’s Web site.

Connie Evingson

Saturday, December 13, 2008
Auditorium

Minneapolis-based Connie Evingson has appeared in clubs and concert halls across the United States, in Europe, and in Japan. She has been a guest soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony conducted by Doc Severinson, and with Bobby McFerrin in the Vocalessence Music Series. She created an original stage production, Fever, A Tribute to Peggy Lee, which she has peformed at theaters across the country and at New York’s Town Hall. Since 1986 Connie has been a member of the vocal jazz ensemble Moore By Four, with whom she has appeared in Spencer and other communities with which the Spencer Area Concert Association has reciprocity. With Moore by Four, she has toured the United States, Europe, and Japan, appeared on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, and opened for such jazz luminaries as Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, and Carmen McRae. She will perform a broad range of jazz—standards, new pieces, and arrangements—as well as a selection of music from her Christmas CD.

Click here to visit Connie Evingson’s Web site.

Opera Iowa Presents
“The Barber of Seville”

Friday, February 20, 2009
Auditorium

The Barber of Seville is Gioacchino Rossini’s most popular opera. Figaro, the barber of the title, helps Count Almaviva win the beautiful Rosina. In the process, they make a fool of her guardian, Dr. Bartolo, who is Figaro’s customer and intends to wed Rosina himself. This is one of the best-loved operas of all time. Hilarious yet tuneful, it will captivate audiences of all ages. The opera will be brought to the Auditorium stage by Opera Iowa, a troupe of young professional musicians from Simpson College in Indianola. For 21 years Opera Iowa has created magic, bringing live opera to communities throughout Iowa and building enthusiastic new audiences for opera tomorrow. Its annual thirteen-week tour is one of the most innovative programs of its kind in the country.

Click here to visit Opera Iowa’s Web site.

Beyond the Pale

Friday, March 20, 2009
Clay County Regional Events Center Ballroom

Critically-acclaimed and award-winning, Toronto’s Beyond the Pale is one of the most exciting ensembles in the Canadian folk, roots, and world music scenes. Their explosive acoustic sound is inspired by a wide range of cross-cultural influences, from European folk styles (Klezmer, Balkan, Gypsy, Romanian) to contemporary and North American styles (bluegrass, jazz, reggae, funk, and more). They are known for their instrumental virtuosity, infectious energy, and unique repertoire featuring both original compositions and inventive arrangements of traditional material. With spectacularly dynamic and exuberant live performances, Beyond the Pale’s unique genre-defying sound has delighted audiences of all kinds at major music festivals, concert theatres, and clubs across Canada and the United States.

Click here to visit Beyond the Pale’s Web site.

Joel Fan

Friday, April 24, 2009
Auditorium

New York native Joel Fan made his debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of eleven as a winner of the Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concert Auditions. Since then, he has appeared in recital and with orchestras throughout the world. He is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, with which he has appeared at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. His eclectic repertoire spans traditional piano classics and concertos, his own piano trnascriptions and cadenzas, and newly commissioned works. His first solo recording, World Keys, was released in June 2006 and immediately went to the Number 3 position on the Billboard chart. He will be releasing a new CD of works by composers of the Americas in February 2009.

Click here to visit Joel Fan’s Web site.

Maia Quartet

Saturday, May 16, 2009
Auditorium

Since its formation in 1990, the Maia Quartet has established itself nationally as an ensemble of innovation and versatility. Praised by critics for its “sparkling musical intelligence,” the quartet has appeared in major concert halls throughout the United States and abroad, including New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall and the 92nd Street Y; Washington’s Kennedy Center; Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall; and the Aspen Music Festival’s Harris Hall. Collaborations with leading chamber musicians have included performances with Joel Krosnick, André-Michel Schub, and Cynthia Phelps. The Maia Quartet’s commitment to the work of living composers has led to premieres of compositions by Pierre Jalbert, Dan Coleman, Vivian Fung, and Ronn Yedidia. The Maia is currently string quartet in residence at the University of Iowa.

Click here to visit the Maia Quartet’s Web site.

Plus a Special Valentine’s Day Concert

Vienna Boys Choir

Saturday, February 14, 2009 — 8:00 p.m.
Auditorium

The Vienna Boys Choir was founded by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1498. Until 1918, the choir sang exclusively for the court, at mass, at private concerts and functions, and on state occasions. After the breakdown of the Habsburg empire following World War I, the former court choir boys became a private institution known as the Wiener Sängerknaben (or Vienna Boys Choir). At that time, the imperial uniform was replaced by the sailor suit, then the height of boys’ fashion. Funding was not enough to pay for the boys’ upkeep, and in 1926 the choir started to give concerts outside of the chapel, performing motets, secular works, and—at the boys’ request—children’s operas. Today there are around 100 choristers between the ages of ten and fourteen, divided into four touring choirs. The four choirs give around 300 concerts and performances each year in front of almost half a million people. Each group spends nine to eleven weeks of the school year on tour. They visit virtually all European countries, and they are frequent guests in Asia, Australia, and the Americas. We are delighted to be able to present the Vienna Boys Choir here in Spencer.

Please note that this concert is not part of the regular series, but will require a separate ticket! Season ticket holders will receive a discount and be allowed to order their tickets in advance of the general public. All seating will be reserved, rather than general admission. Because of the anticipated demand for these tickets, priority in seat selection will be based on the date we receive season ticket orders. By ordering season tickets right away, you can help guarantee that you get good seats for the Vienna Boys Choir. (You will receive an order form with your season tickets at the end of the summer.)

This concert was made possible in part by a Community Betterment Grant from the Clay County Community Foundation.

Click here to visit the Vienna Boys Choir’s Web site.