Perhaps Helen Brunner’s life is just one endless series of inspirations, where everything is magical and amazing. One rather thinks, of course, that the Juilliard-educated mother of four who pioneered Suzuki training in England, simply sees her life that way. And her music students are at the center of it, whether those are Island children, to whom she offered a free (and magical) hour of personal instruction on Sunday, or her own grandchildren and others playing Vivaldi, Bach and other (amazing) pieces as the London Gold Group.
Combine your love of literature and music by spending the evening with vocalist Stephanie Miele as she sings Broadway ballads inspired by children’s literature.
Yes, there are quite a few.
Richard Rogers, Oscar Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Kern and Lerner and Loewe have all whetted their creative fires by igniting the child within.
Examples include C’est Moi from Camelot, Many a New Day from Oklahoma, and Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man of Mine from Showboat.
A Musical Sandwich
Grab a slice of Haydn next week with your packets of roast beef, ham and swiss. Don’t see the connective tissue there? Well, that’s because one never really knows what will be uncovered when pulling back the curtain on our neighbors’ lives.
Watch a Concert, Join the Concert
They’ve played for the Queen and now they’re playing for you.
This Saturday, Oct. 23 at 5 p.m. the London Gold Group will be performing at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown. This group of violinists and viola players is comprised of London’s finest musicians, aged 9 to 15 years old that is. But don’t let thoughts of callow youths dissuade you. These kids have been rosining up their bows since they were four years old.
Rocking the Strings and Buttons
Many years ago, Brendan Begley read the following horoscope in a Dublin newspaper: Follow your heart. A moment of madness is better than a life of logic. Mr. Begley promptly quit his job as a Dublin schoolteacher and headed back to Dingle to start making music.
Shakespeare on Strings
Reflections of Shakespeare, a concert of music, poetry and dance, will be presented by Boston’s Row Twelve Chamber Music Ensemble free to the public on Saturday, Oct. 16, at 5:30 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center.
The performance is a gift from Row Twelve to the Island community, and supported in part by the Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Council in collaboration with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and by MPRI, in memory of Robert Hansen.