I am excited to invite you to Bethel’s spring coffee house, which is going to be held on Saturday, April 28th at 6pm in the multi-purpose room of the church. The event is FREE and open to ANYONE! I encourage you to bring a friend and share with them a great night of fellowship, entertainment, food and love. As you may know, our first coffee house was held in October 2017 and was a huge hit bigger than we could have ever expected. We were hoping for maybe 100 people and figured if we came close to that, we could call it a successful night. Well, we were VERY Blessed to smash that figure and had 132 people in attendance. It was a great night and probably one of the largest turnouts for a non-service event the church has had. We have made plans to increase our set up and are ready to host 150 people this time.

The church has decided that they would like us to produce two events a year, one in October and another in the Spring. Well, we have been working very hard getting our April event ready and I think you are really going to like it. Doors will open at 5:30pm and we will begin to serve food and drink shortly after. We expect to begin with the entertainment shortly after 6pm. Like our first event, we will be providing light food and refreshments including hoagies, mini-chicken sandwiches and delicious hot pretzels. Of course, this is in addition to delicious coffee, tea, cold drinks and home made desserts!

The highlight of the night is our wonderful entertainment. We have several acts returning from last time as well as a few new ones to entertain you. There is a great deal of diversity within the music that you will never be bored. From Sacred to Secular, there is a little something for everyone. For me, I am proud to have an opportunity to again direct our 13 pc. men’s choir, Victory Voices, in two selections, Instrument of Peace and Stand By Me. Instrument of Peace, by Greg Gilpin, is a beautiful song written for men’s choir that speaks to the need for peace in our lives and that spirit which needs to live in all our spirit. During the song there is a beautiful solo song by tenor vocalist Nick Cornelius. To lighten the mood, our other selection is the great Stand By Me by Ben E. King. The men are doing a great job and this is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

For our other entertainment, we are pleased to announce that the following will be performing: Pastor Brent Robinson, Sam Bodder, Joe DeMaio, Jeff Barrows, Karen Barrows, Jerry Crivellaro, Ray LaBarre, Leah Tielmann, Kemie Adedoyin, Keith Schifano, Linda Pettinelli, Laura Stauffer, Laura Carlson, Shawn Isaacs, and Mark Campbell. There is a lot of talent with all of these voices and performers. Our closing number will even be a surprise that might shock some of the church members!! A surprise that I am sure will be well worth it!

Although the event looks to be a great night, it takes several months of work, meetings, many phone calls and communication to put everything together. I would like to thank my committee for doing a great job assisting and leading on several fronts. Our committee includes: myself, Connie Sabatine, Jeff Barrows, Melinda Scheel and Joe DeMaio. Everyone has graciously donated their time to build this event. So far, the excitement is growing as we are getting closer and I am encouraged by the turn out we are expecting. This is an outreach event geared to bring others into our church regardless of their religious affiliations. To be able to share a time of fellowship, food and entertainment with them is a gift of peace and an opportunity to get to know our community.

We also are VERY THANKFUL to ShopRite, Wegman’s, Weis Market, Giant Market, Philly Pretzel Company, Sam’s Club, Chick-Fil-A (Phillipsburg Location) for making wonderful contributions to our night.

The event should last until about 8:30pm. We will have an intermission between sets and at that time will again host the popular trivia contest like we did last time. A mixture of tv/movie and pop culture, our trivia contest was a hit, and for some, a great blast from the past. Prizes will be awarded to those 3 with the most correct.

The night is shaping up to be very special. I encourage you all to come. The room is set up in a very relaxed and warm atmosphere almost resembling a dinner theater. Plus, it is free! If you have any questions or need directions, please call me at (908)-619-4502.

The ingredients of these factors always make for a great night and the euphoria of the season is made official by this performance.  But, for this year, the release of the CD more than added a next level of  “coolness” to it.  For many, this was their first time being part of a recorded album.  We all own cd’s and take it for granted, but, when you get to see your name listed on a professionally made cd, there is just something very special about that.  I designed and created the artwork and liner notes for the album and Discmakers from Pennsauken, NJ made them for us. Since I had put this together, I obviously was aware of what it looked like and was used to seeing it.  But, for the members, it was a cool experience for me to see the look of excitement and feeling of accomplishment on many of their faces. As we handed out the cd’s and they finally had a chance to see them for the first time, that was well worth the time and effort in designing this project.   Our CD, REJOICE, was finally available and after so many years, we now have a professional recording that will last forever.  I do believe that many of us DID rejoice that night in celebration of a wonderful event all led by founder and trumpeter Ken Brader.  For without him, none of this would be possible.

Since scheduling in December is never easy, our attendance can vary and usually does.  But, this year was really awesome as we had one of our largest groups ever with 43 people playing!  We had 2 great shows and both Ken I really feel this was one of, if not, the best performance of the group in many years if not ever.  Whether it was the cd or something else, the night was just great for everyone and the sound was awesome.  One thing that made it special for me was the addition of a few long time members who had not played with us in many years due to scheduling and travel.  Paul Chepolis and Eric Martin were former students of Ken’s and had not played in almost 20 years.  When I was in high school, Eric went to rival Easton HS and we spent many years playing together at Christmas time.  I hadn’t seen Eric in many years.  He came up as a surprise to Ken and his parents and it was awesome to see him there.  Paul also went to Easton and is a few years younger than I am, but it was great to have him back and be able to relive and tell stories of the past.  As the eldest member of the group, this opportunity was really good for me. To be able to not just see longtime friends but also perform with them was a great feeling.

I am very thankful to everyone who played and helped to make this night a great success.  Ken was so overjoyed and full of emotion that this was an even greater night for him.  With all the health issues that Ken is dealing with, it is such a good feeling to see him have such a rewarding night and a chance to lead again.

Now, while Gloria isn’t touring right now, the music of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine is alive and well with the sounds of Gloria’s Miami Sound Tribute band featuring Nikki Torres. This tribute band is one of the hottest bands right now in the country.  Having just finished recent tour dates recently that included Texas, Chicago, New York, Arizona and Miami, this band is in demand and a total hit.  The band is fronted by Ms. Nikki Torres who has an extensive background singing all over the world with many artists. The drive behind the band comes from the leader and husband to Nikki, Bill Ciaramelli. Bill serves as the drummer and musical director and is constantly working to book the band nation wide.  Bill and Nikki have created the band which covers all of Gloria’s major hits including Oye Mi Canto, 1,2,3, Conga, Get on Your Feet, Coming Out of the Dark, Turn the Beat Around and Bad Boy to name a few.

I’ve had the pleasure of performing with this group and all I can say is…Wow!!  The music is a lot of fun to play and you can’t help but to feel the energy and passion of the music.  I’ve worked with Bill and Nikki in a wedding band in Philadelphia, Pa. and Long Island, NY and have really enjoyed getting to know them and performing with them.  The band is comprised of some of New York’s finest musicians and the overall product is just awesome.  Nikki is definitely one of my favorite singers and I could sit and listen to her sing all the time.  She very accurately approaches Gloria’s music in the same style and feel as it was originally intended to be.  It is very evident by their preparation and approach that this band is well thought-out and well rehearsed.

This show really is a must see.  Plus, they are now working on a Latin Explosion show, which is a tribute show to include other legendary Latin artists. With an anxious group of talented musicians, they are ready to play and bring a new level of excitement to any stage, venue or audience.  They do not let you sit and really want you to be involved.  They really, and pardon the pun, want you to GET ON YOUR FEET!!!

I would highly encourage anyone to check them out.  The band can be found at http://rhythmmachineband.com/ where you can listen to samples, watch videos and check out where they are playing next.

Here are a few video clips:

CONGA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N-4ncUp0KI

DEMO VIDEO WITH A MIX OF SONGS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knsWv5NfTTk

Maria is considered one of the most in demand jazz composers of our time and is regarded as an innovator with her creative harmonic ideas and rhythmic structure unlike what you will ever hear. Her music is sometimes called avant-garde with flares of contemporary and classical styles peppered in.  The mixture of the varied styles is probably what makes her music as unique as it is.

Originally from Minnesota and now based out of New York City, Maria has managed to establish herself as the premier composer in an arena that has predominantly been dominated by men for the past 60 years.  She was named Best Composer, best Arranger and Best Big Band in Down Beat magazine from 2006-2012 and again in 2016.  In 2007 she won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition, “Cerulean Skies“, and Best Classical Vocal Solo Winter Morning Walks.  In 2016, her album The Thompson Fields won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble.  Needless to say, her accomplishments have not gone unnoticed.  Her music is now considered standard jazz literature for many top notch college jazz programs and she is very much in demand as a clinician and composer for many institutions.

If you talk to many jazz artists, you might hear that Maria is considered the top and most popular arranger on the East Coast and Gordon Goodwin the most sought after composer and arranger on the West Coast  The fact that we had someone of such high stature was a great experience for everyone involved.  Having the chance to hear exactly how a piece is supposed to played from the person who actually wrote it was a surreal experience.  She was very kind to work with yet had a way of demanding the best from everyone not accepting less than your best.

For everyone who was a part of her 3 days in the Lehigh Valley, there was definitely something to learn.  The concert was awesome and a great experience for the students.  Some of them may not yet realize the impact of someone like Maria being a part of their musical development. But, one day they will look back and realize that they had a chance to play under the direction of a legend!