MUSIC AND CONCERTS AT FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
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Hot Summer Nights – Music on the Labyrinth
** All programs at 6:30 p.m. **
Outdoors on the labyrinth, south side of the church;
bring a blanket or chair if you wish.
(will move indoors for inclement weather)
Free will offering for the musicians accepted
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Saturday, June 1
Joe Uveges - Acoustic musician
Everything from driving rock to country ballads, percussive funk and adult contemporary with a spiritual twist
Joe Uveges has meandered a path of small town minstrel on Colorado's Front Range for more than 22 years now. Raised a farm kid in Schoharie New York, pummeled by liberal academics at Union College and Catholic University, a grizzled veteran of bar bands and coffeehouses, he should be a burned out skeleton of a man playing Allman Brother covers, tipping lukewarm Coors from a can, and lamenting broken marriages and illegitimate kids. He is not. Instead, 20 years into his first and only marriage and parenting all of his children (with varying degrees of success) he has been touring the country promoting his last six CDs. Two of them won "Best of" awards in their respective years for the Pikes Peak region and Joe was recently fan choice for “Best Solo Musician” in the Pikes Peak region for 2011 and 2012.
For the last 12 years Joe has played 130+ shows a year from coast to coast. A consummate veteran of coffee-houses and concerts of every type, Joe weaves a performer's magic in numerous settings with grace and humor. Joe also has performed in numerous churches from a wide variety of denominations. He is currently acting music minister at High Plains Church (UU) in Colorado Springs. “Joe Uveges is not only a warm, wise and witty musician, but also a gifted, gritty and grace-filled storyteller and theologian! Truly uplifting, engaging, inspiring .. . . worship music at its best!
Joe has written well over 900 songs; his prolific abilities have allowed him to hone the skill of “On Stage Songwriting” to a fine art. Capturing his fun-loving style, the You-Tube of the “Librarian Song” has had more than 200,000 hits on 3 different sites and is currently traveling the internet world from the U.S. Library of Congress to Hungary, China and Vietnam: “Funny song. I am Vietnamese librarian and I like it.”
Joe recently teamed up with Christian singer/songwriter Stephanie Pauline of “More than Music” ministries on a country disc entitled: When the Smoke Clears. The disc was recorded in Nashville and Colorado Springs and features some of country music's finest studio players including Dave Cleveland, Tim Akres (Rascall Flatts), Gary Lund, Mark Web, Jason Web, Steve Brewster, Charlie Hall, and Glenn Duncan (Barbara Mandrell). The disc was released on Sept. 30th, 2011.
Joe resides in Colorado Springs with his incomparably brilliant wife, Kristen and his two children, Katie (20) and Andrew (12). They have 2 cats and 28 rabbits.
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Saturday, June 15
Sotto Voce – Women’s Vocal Sextet
Spirituals, a cappella pieces and close harmonies
Sotto Voce is an ensemble of six unique singers and an incredible accompanist. They have been singing together since 2004, and perform both sacred and secular music for a variety of occasions, Sotto Voce literally means “under the voice” in Italian, which the group likes to define as “soft voice” – so they may hear God.
Members of the group are Jaima DiMartino, Gayle Grace, Diana Hatler, Laura Hatler, Nancy Lingbloom, Valerie Rollins, and Charlene Noland, accompanist
http://www.sottovoce.webs.com/
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Saturday, June 29
Swallowtail Celtic Trio
Randy Zombola, hammered dulcimer,
Sandy Craddock, flute and Irish flute, Dan Dameron, guitar
Swallowtail is a local trio that enjoys playing Celtic/World music. Sandy Craddock is a Julliard trained musician who brings a unique and soulful style to the group. Dan Dameron is a talented guitarist/vocalist who, in addition to providing Swallowtail with a solid and energetic rhythm base, also performs extensively as a solo guitarist and vocalist around the Colorado Springs area. Randy Zombola has played the hammered dulcimer for over 30 years and has played in several Celtic groups during this time. He won the prestigious National Hammered Dulcimer Championship in Winfield Kansas in 1988. Swallowtail has played their eclectic and exciting brand of Celtic music for over 10 years.
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Saturday, July 13
Beatidudes
Guitar, percussion and vocals
Beatidudes, a men’s trio featuring guitars, percussion and vocals, will perform Christian songs, gospel, folk rock and beats. Members of the Beatidudes (from the Latin root word “beautitude”, referencing the blessed) are Steve Alvarez, lead vocal, Ted Martin with vocals, bass and guitars, and Greg Robinson, vocals and guitar. They sing for the joy of sharing their faith through music.
www.facebook.com/pages/Beatidudes/193604120995
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Saturday, July 27
Dixie Q Ragtime and Dixieland Band
with Al Eberhardt, trumpet
Trumpet/cornet, clarinet, trombone, tuba, banjo, percussion
The Dixie Q vintage jazz band was a creation of locally well-known trumpeter/cornetist, the late Ted Hunt, and the still very much musically active banjo player, Don Schaarschmidt. They formed this six-piece New Orleans style group to perform what they call ”Toe-Tappin Live Music” from America’s ragtime and Dixieland Eras. In addition to cornet and banjo, the sextet also routinely includes a clarinet, trombone, tuba and drums to
round out their instrumentation.
Ted Hunt was a long-time friend, student and musical colleague of Al Eberhardt. Al will be performing on his new “Old Style” cornet in honor of Ted to give this performance the authentic sound of the vintage jazz era. Al will be the announcer at this event and give some interesting background info on the individual players in the Dixie Q and the tunes to be performed on the program. Al is currently an Artist in Residence at CSU-Pueblo where he teaches trumpet and jazz studies.
Members of the band are: Stan Moore, clarinet, retired concertmaster of the U.S. Naval Academy Band who plays clarinet and saxophones with several groups in Colorado Springs; Georgia Mineah, trombone, retired aerospace engineer who plays euphonium in the Pueblo Municipal Band and sings in the Colorado Springs Chorale; Steve Schaarschmidt, percussion, electrical engineer who has played with Lazy Spacemen, Big Back Yard, The Personals, and Colorado Skye Pipes and Drums; Charles Lamoreaux, tuba, who is a goldsmith and plays euphonium in the Pueblo Municipal Band and cello in the Pikes Peak Philharmonic Orchestra; and Don Schaarschmidt, tenor and banjo, retired structural engineer who plays euphonium in the Colorado Springs Concert Band and is the leader of Dixie Q, which he co-founded in 2010.
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Saturday, August 10
Dean Phelps
Bluegrass guitarist and singer
Dean Phelps combines award-winning Travis-style guitar with a soulful vocal style and a wide repertoire. The result is heart-friendly songs played to a toe-tapping beat. In 2012 he won the National Thumbpick Guitar Contest in Mountain View, Arkansas, and was the thumbpick guitar champion in the Indiana State Picking and Fiddling Championships in 2012. His music is regularly featured in worship services of DisciplesNetChurch, an online congregation of the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.
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First Christian Church Concert Series Ministry
The purpose of the Concert Series Ministry is to create a spiritually enriching experience through the power of music in its traditional and emerging forms. This ministry is part of our "vision and mission statement": to “act out our gifts in joyful Christian service…radical in hospitality, outrageous in generosity and joyful in service to God and neighbor…"
