Arts Under the Dome 2011-2012 Season
Join us for another terrific season of music Under the Dome in downtown Gulfport!
Saturday, November 19, 7:00 PM
Deborah Henson-Conant
Grammy-nominated harpist Deborah Henson-Conant is a one-woman blues-flamenco-Celtic-funk-folk/pop-Latin jazz dynamo. She solos like a rock guitarist and transitions into a heart-wrenching ballad, weaving one number into the next via whimsical stories and snippets of ancient harp lore. She tells uproarious tales with the timing of a stand-up comic. She conjures up the sound of a Mexican street band one minute and then lays into a ferocious Hendrix-inspired workout. Revolutionizing the elite concert harp into a bright blue custom built 36-string electric “harness harp”, Deborah has toured with the Boston Pops, opened for Ray Charles, jammed onstage with Bobby McFerrin, and starred in her own award-winning PBS special, “Invention and Alchemy.” Her dazzling range and depth of technique combined with her irrepressible energy, humor, and warmth will take you on a wild musical ride you will never forget. www.hipharp.com
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Saturday, January 14, 7:00 PM
Edgar Cruz
Audiences are routinely blown away by the precision, speed and mastery of Edgar Cruz on the acoustic guitar. Edgar performs an incredible repertoire of greatest hits such as Malaguena, Classical Gas, Bohemian Rhapsody, In the Mood, Dueling Banjos, and Hotel California along with classical, blues and jazz selections, Spanish and Latin favorites, dazzling originals and medleys on the fly. For the past fifteen years he has headlined the prestigious Chet Atkins Guitar Festival in Nashville and regularly toured throughout the U.S., Europe, and South America. Edgar has been named Oklahoma’s top performing artist and/or acoustic guitarist for the last ten years. He has seventeen recordings, several with famed guitarist Ruben Romero. He is also the subject of an Emmy-winning documentary, Spanish Blood: The Guitar Music of Edgar Cruz. www.edgarcruz.com
Saturday, February 4, 7:00 PM
Don Edwards
Singer, guitarist, composer and historian Don Edwards has spent four decades enthralling audiences worldwide with authentic Western music and a vast knowledge of cowboy history and lore. In his long and illustrious recording career, Don has made a major contribution to the preservation and celebration of traditional cowboy music. He has received six prestigious Wrangler Awards for Outstanding Traditional Music from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Grammy nominations, an Indie award, and multiple awards from the Western Music Association for Performer of the Year. The richness of Don’s voice coupled with his magical stage presence has made him America’s #1 Western balladeer. He has been inducted into the Traditional Cowboy Music Hall of Fame and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. www.donedwardsmusic.com
Saturday, February 18, 7:00 PM
Dominick Farinacci and Aaron Diehl
Jazz trumpeter Dominick Farinacci was 17 when Wynton Marsalis invited him to perform on his PBS special at Lincoln Center and selected him for the inaugural Jazz Studies program at Juilliard. Dominick has since won the International New Star award and the Carmine Caruso International Trumpet Competition. He appears regularly at Birdland and has headlined at the Monterey, Montreal and Toronto Jazz Festivals. Aaron Diehl has been hailed as “the most promising discovery Wynton Marsalis has made since Eric Reed.” Aaron’s interpretations of Joplin, Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Art Tatum and other jazz masters have made him one of today’s most in-demand jazz artists. He has toured with the Wynton Marsalis Septet, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and numerous major jazz artists. www.dominickfarinacci.com www.aarondiehl.com
Sunday, March 4, 7:00 PM
Festival of Four
Since 1992, Festival of Four has dazzled audiences with a truly international repertoire of musical gems played with the highest levels of virtuosity and musicianship. Chilean-born flutist Viviana Guzman studied with Jean-Pierre Rampal and James Galloway and has played the world’s major venues. Czech-born Radim Zenkl is U.S. mandolin champion and one of the world’s premier mandolin virtuosos. Red-hot flamenco guitarist Guillermo Rios returned to the U.S. after 17 years of performing and touring with Spain’s leading flamenco artists. The brilliant composing/arranging talents of classical guitarist Richard Patterson, who has made over 30 recordings, combine to shatter the boundaries of traditional chamber music. www.festivaloffour.com
General Information:
All concerts are in the Sanctuary Building of First United Methodist Church (across from Gulfport City Hall) on the corner of 15th Street and 24th Avenue. The building is fully handicapped/wheelchair accessible via elevator on the 15th Street side of the building on the NE corner. All concerts are open seating. Tickets are sold at the door for each concert. Advance tickets may be purchased by mail or at www.arts.fumc-gulfport.org through PayPal. Tickets are also available from the church office (corner of 15th St. and 23rd Ave.) on Monday through Thursday from 8 to 4. For information, call 228-863-0392 or 229-6851, or e-mail artsunderthedome@gmail.com.