The thrill of attending a performance in a grand concert hall is second-to-none, but if you’re craving something different, we hope you’ll join us in the 242-seat Gregory Family Theater for our American Roots Series and Matinee Idylls performances. It’s a more intimate artistic experience you’re sure to savor.
Bluegrass fans should come out for J2B2 – the John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band (3/2). This quartet delivers fresh interpretations of bluegrass classics combined with the stylings of West Coast folk rock. They’ve performed multiple times at the Grand Ole Opry, at prestigious festivals such as Merlefest and Rockygrass, and internationally.
“I particularly love the ensemble nature of bluegrass—each player has a distinct role in the music, and when all the parts fit together a unique energy happens that’s infectious,” John Jorgenson said. “The vocal harmony works in much the same way, and the whole seems much larger than the sum of the parts!”
Later in March, the Alma Ensemble (3/19), a flute/clarinet/piano trio, champions women in music through thoughtful chamber music concerts that are enriched with multimedia. The group is named for “Alma Mahler, [who] was most famous for her relationships with prominent artistic men, but she was a composer in her own right who never received the opportunities of her counterparts,” Michelle Smith Johnson, the group’s clarinetist said. “Her first marriage was to composer Gustav Mahler who pressed her to give up composing in favor of marrying him. Her story is symbolic of the obstacles and underrepresentation women have historically faced in classical music.”
The repertoire for the Alma Ensemble’s concert at the Hylton Center will feature works by American composer Valerie Coleman, Australian composer and educator Helen Stowasser, French composer and member of Les Six Germaine Tailleferre, and more. “We love connecting with people through great music written by women,” Johnson said. “This concert is full of so much joy, contemplative moments, and inspiring stories.”
Another performance to look forward to in the Gregory Family Theater is American Roots Series bluegrass powerhouse Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen (4/20). Audiences can expect original material and original interpretations of classic songs, with influences ranging all the way from the early bluegrass innovators to the New Grass Revival.
“We plan on having a show full of masterful picking and fun arrangements that make an audience tap their feet, clap their hands, and want to sing along,” Frank Solivan said. “The band is always exciting to play with and the audience typically feeds off of our excitement…in turn, that gets us wanting to play with more gusto. It’s kind of like mass psychosis…but in a really good way. I know everyone in the band will ‘bring it’!”
Also this spring, Bridging the Gap (4/24) pairs long-time Marine Band colleagues Peter Wilson (violin) and Aaron Clay (double bass). (You may recognize Wilson from his current role as artistic director and conductor of the American Festival Pops Orchestra—a Hylton audience favorite!) This dynamic duo brings a unique voice to musical genres from classical to jazz, folk to film music, funk to popular song, and even Big Band.
If you’re new to the American Roots Series and Matinee Idylls, there’s no time like the present to explore the exciting performances listed above!