A SEASON OF ‘EVERYTHING FROM BACH TO ROCK’: Grand opening of Chuck Mathena Center this weekend in Princeton, W.Va.
The Chuck Mathena Center’s 2008-2009 Inaugural Season features “everything from Bach to Rock.”
The grand opening weekend is this Friday, July 11 through Sunday, July 13. This whole experience should be saturated in poetry, the kind in the air around great performers. The line-up includes The Del McCoury Band, award-winning magicians Kevin and Cindy Spencer with their Theatre of Illusion, and gospel singer extraordinaire Ethel Caffie-Austin.
For complete details on upcoming performances or to purchase tickets online visit chuckmathenacenter.org. Tickets are available by phone at (304) 425-5128 or (877) 425-5127 or in person at 2 Stafford Commons, in Princeton, W.Va.
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Press Release
For immediate release:
Beth King
beth@randolpharts.org
Randolph County Community Arts Center
637-2355
RCCAC Brown Bag Concert features The Ginsangers
The GinSangers, a favorite, local country blues and swing band with national recognition, will perform for the July 16th free Brown Bag Lunch concert at the Randolph County Community Arts Center. The Brown Bag Lunch Concert Series is sponsored by Davis Trust Company and is held on the third Wednesday of every month at noon.
The GinSangers, comprised of Connie Townsend, Dave Parker, Rose Bell, Seth Young and Jeff Broschart, made their debut on WV Public Radio’s Mountain Stage in August of 2005. They were the Featured Band on XM Radio in September 2007 and have received strong national reviews for their latest recording, The Weight of Light. Silas House, a singer, songwriter, best selling novelist, and contributing editor for No Depression magazine, recently described the GinSangers as “real mountain soul, the kind of hillbilly-infused music that captures the true dignity and spirit of an entire place and its people.”
Guitarist and songwriter Connie Townsend has been following her dream for more than twenty-five years. A Parkersburg native, Townsend started off accompanying her singing with a 1943 Gibson guitar. After moving to Elkins in 1996, and after a few years of solo and duet gigs, she formed a folksy country blues band, which over time has been honed into “The GinSangers.”
Townsend and her husband, musical partner and songwriting partner, Dave Parker, won first place at the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest, were finalists at Mountain Stage’s New Song Fest, and were awarded Honorable Mention in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. They have also taught songwriting at Augusta Heritage Workshops. Crossing the lines of blues, country, swing, and traditional, Townsend and Parker have taken their music all over West Virginia, the Appalachian region, and even down to New Orleans. Most recently, local supporters and fans nominated them for the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.
The GinSangers include a special mother-daughter blend with Townsend’s daughter, Rose Bell, on fiddle and harmony vocals. Bell has been a member of the Highland String Orchestra and the Davis & Elkins College String Ensemble. She is prominently featured on fiddle and harmony vocals on the GinSangers’ newly released CD, The Weight of Light. Bell’s fiddle version of Amazing Grace is featured on the PBS documentary film The Appalachians, as well as on the companion CD.
GinSanger drummer Jeffery Broschart has made numerous appearances with a variety of groups at RCCAC. Broschart received his degree from Fairmont State College where he was a member of the Fairmont State Jazz Band. He also performs with the Appalachian Jazz Ensemble and the Gloryland Band. Broschart is the electrical technology instructor at the Randolph Technical Center.
Seth Young rounds out the musical talents of the GinSangers with his expertise on bass and accordion. Young, an Elkins High School and Davis & Elkins College graduate, currently teaches music at Elkins Middle School. He also plays bass for numerous groups in central West Virginia, including local favorite Backwater Mojo.
The Randolph County Community Arts Center invites music lovers to bring a lunch and enjoy the free concert. Currently on exhibit in the Great Hall is a traveling exhibition by the International Wood Engraver’s Network as well as historical wood block prints from the GramLee Collection of West Virginia University. A non-profit organization promoting and supporting the arts in Randolph County and surrounding areas, the Randolph County Community Arts Center is located at the corner of Randolph Avenue and Park Street in Elkins. For more information, please call 637-2355 or log onto www.randolpharts.org. For additional information on The GinSangers visit http://www.ginsangmusic.com/index.html.
