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Event
Marcia Gomes and Friends Benefit Concert
Local jazz, R&B, and acoustic soul singer songwriter, Marcia Gomes, and friends, including special guests, Samirah Evans and Evelyn Harris, will perform at a benefit concert for the Haydenville Congregational Church on Saturday December 5, 2015 at 7:00 PM at the Haydenville Congregational Church at 143 Main Street, Haydenville, MA. Local singer, Susan Farrell, Jeff Olmsted, Director of Music at Haydenville Congregational Church, and a cappella group, the Wise Guys will also perform
The theme for the concert is "Living the Dream," which refers to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's dream. Gomes, a jazz, R&B, gospel, influenced singer, songwriter will perform original compositions that reflect on themes of faith, love, peace, resiliency, and social justice. A graduate of Berklee College of Music in voice and songwriting, Gomes recently relocated to the Valley from Boston, where she is developing an enthusiastic local following. Ken Maiuri of The Daily Hampshire Gazette writes that Gomes "calls to mind such '70s greats as Joni Mitchell, Phoebe Snow and Stevie Wonder."
Gomes will share the stage with popular jazz vocalist, Samirah Evans, and Grammy Award-nominated composer and vocalist, Evelyn Harris. Evans and Harris will perform both solo and in duets with Gomes. All three will join their voices for a couple of songs. Evans and Harris are both are fans of Gomes' music. Evans, who now lives in Brattleboro, VT, describes Gomes singing, "Marcia's voice soars with effortless grace, with a lovely tonal quality that is breathtaking." Evelyn Harris shares, "Her [;;Gomes];; talent and musicianship shone through her compositions and her use of interesting chord structuresshe has made me one of her biggest fans and I feel honored to have her in our community."
Evelyn Harris is a Grammy Award-winning vocalist (with Sweet Honey in the Rock), Grammy-nominated composer, and former member of the internationally acclaimed African American women's a cappella ensemble group, Sweet Honey in the Rock. Harris co-produced nine of the ensemble's albums. In 1988, one of Harris' original compositions, State of Emergency, from the group's album Live at Carnegie Hall, was nominated for a Grammy Award. Since her retirement from Sweet Honey in the Rock, Harris has had a successful solo career both locally and nationally, performing in a range of musical styles, including jazz, R&B, gospel, blues, rock, and folk. Harris devotes much of her time to coaching and teaching. She directs the Ku'umba Women's Choir in Northampton and VOICES of New Africa House at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She also teaches voice at the Institute of Musical Arts in Goshen, MA.
Samirah Evans is a jazz vocalist who was a fixture on the New Orleans music scene for more than 15 years before relocating to Brattleboro, Vermont in the wake of hurricane Katrina. She formed Samirah Evans & Her Handsome Devils in 2007 and has performed at clubs, concert halls and music festivals throughout the northeast. In 2011, Evans released Hot Club: Live at the Vermont Jazz Center (Misha Records), her third CD and first recorded outside of Louisiana. She has shared stages with legendary artists James Brown, B.B. King, Irma Thomas, Sheila Jordan, Terence Blanchard, and Donald Harrison, Jr., among others in her career, and has toured Europe, Asia and South America as a headliner. Evans is the curator of the Ladies and Jazz series at the Arts Block in Greenfield, MA. Evans is also a faculty member of Williams College and MCLA, where she teaches voice.
Jeff Olmsted Olmsted is songwriter/composer, choir director, producer, arranger, accompanist, saloon singer, copyist and classroom teacher with a B.A. in Music Composition from Yale. In 2009, the Dayton Philharmonic premiered, Songs of Rumi, a 30-minute piece he composed for chamber orchestra and chorus. Olmsted leads the Peace in the Valley Community Choir at the Northampton Community Music Center and is the director of Music at the Haydenville Congregational Church.
Susan Farrell has been singing all her life. Her singing has taken her on a journey from folk music and street singing in San Francisco, to off Broadway musical theater, touring rock groups, jazz in the Valley clubs, and choir music in the Williamsburg and Haydenville churches.
The Wise Guys are an a cappella group that formed in 2012 who sing pop, doo-wop, folk, jazz, and gospel music.
Admission to the fundraising concert is $25 to $50. To reserve your seat and for more information about the event, contact Jennifer Matias at 857-919-4045 or jennifer.matias1@gmail.com. Tickets can be purchased at haydenville.brownpapertickets.com.
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LocationHaydenville Congregational Church (View)
143 Main Street
Haydenville, MA 01039
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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