Westfield Athenaeum Library
First Thursday Concerts
The Athenaeum Announces FIRST THURSDAYS
@ the Athenaeum Series of Lunchtime Concerts for Fall
The Westfield Athenaeum will be continuing its popular FIRST THURSDAYS @ the Athenaeum lunchtime concerts in the Lang Auditorium on the first Thursday of the month at 12 noon from September 8 through December 1, 2011. The first concert of the fall season will take place on Thursday, September 8, featuring acoustic guitarist Peter Biedermann, from Butler, New Jersey. Biedermann has been playing guitar, composing and performing live since 1977. He has also played numerous styles of music in various bands, most notably the band PING. PING started out as an instrumental guitar duo with Ian Smit in 1984. The idea then, as it is now, was to combine acoustic and electronic elements and create electro-acoustic soundscapes originally developed by the likes of Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, David Torn and many other lesser known pioneers of ambient musical sound structures.
Beginning in the summer of 2000, Biedermann’s focus shifted to writing, performing and recording solo guitar pieces; many incorporating a hybrid style combining fingerstyle acoustic via six and twelve string guitars with electronic ambient soundscapes in real time. Three recordings highlighting this phase of development are documented on Sound & Spirit (2000), In Theory (2001) and The Learning Curve (2001). A transition to solo acoustic playing became the focus in 2008 and continues today. We are very pleased to welcome back this amazingly versatile musician for a return engagement at the Athenaeum! More information about Beidermann can be found at www.peterbiedermann.com.
On October 6, singer/songwriter Dan Daniels, from South Hadley, MA, will be performing a program he calls “A Musical Journey: 1950 – 2011.” Daniels, who has performed at past festivals on the Green in Westfield, as well as at other concert venues throughout New England, has been involved with music his entire life. He took up the guitar at the age of 13, wanting to be the next Elvis. He went on to join the high school chorus and played folk music in college, then joined a string band called “The Falls Road String Band,” followed by a country rock band called “Back East.” His most recent group, for which he is most well-known, is called “Dan Daniels and Your No Good Buddies.”
Daniels will give a musical overview of his life, starting with his first musical love, cowboy music, with such songs as “Back in the Saddle Again” and “Roly Poly.” His musical influences evolved to rock and roll as he got older, so music from the likes of Elvis and Buddy Holly and crossover country music legend Johnny Cash will be explored. Daniels was highly influenced by the folk music scene of the 1960s, including the folk rock music of the Bryds. The Beatles and country rock musicians like Jonathan Edwards and Credence Clearwater Revival became his next loves, during the mid-1960s and into the 1970s, before he returned to folk and old-time country music like “Take Me Home Country Roads,” “City of New Orleans” and “Mr. Bojangles.” More recently, Daniels has been involved with “Dan Daniels and Your No Good Buddies,” performing and recording hits such as “(I’ve Been Eatin’) Onions,” “Rock-n-Roll” and “Geezer Rock.” Copies of Daniels’ CDs will also be for sale following the concert.
On November 3, music educator and naturalist John Root, from Amherst, will be performing “Popular Music of the Golden Years (1920 – 1939).” Root has appeared a number of times before at the Athenaeum, both as a performer and a lecturer. This program will feature a diverse repertoire of classics from the American songbook composed during the 1920’s and 1930’s. John sings seldom-heard verses as well as the more familiar choruses of these songs, accompanying himself at the keyboard with authentic period piano arrangements.
On December 1, student musicians from the Westfield State University Music Department will be on hand to get us in the holiday spirit with a Holiday Concert, as part of the annual “Westfield Dickens Days” festivities sponsored by Westfield on Weekends (WOW), the Westfield Business Improvement District (WBID), Westfield State University and the Athenaeum.
The FIRST THURSDAYS @ the Athenaeum lunchtime concert series began in 2009 in collaboration with the Westfield State University Music Department, under then Music Dept. Chair Andrew Bonacci, helping to showcase the outstanding level of musicianship at WSU to the wider community. Current Music Dept. Chair Sonya Lawson is continuing the collaboration by helping bring new and continuing students who are studying at the Westfield campus to the Athenaeum to perform for local residents and visitors.
Catering the FIRST THURSDAYS lunchtime concert series this year will be Soup’s On, located at 16 Union St. in Westfield (inside the Pilgrim Candle building). Soup’s On will be offering yogurt parfaits, a variety of salads, fruit cups, a variety of sandwiches (both deli and grilled panini), two kinds of homemade soups, and a variety of desserts. Hot and cold beverages will also be available.
Lunch will be available starting at 11:30 a.m. and the concerts will start at noon.
Mark your calendars and join us for these upcoming FIRST THURSDAYS @ the Athenaeum concerts on September 8, October 6, November 3 and December 1 and bring a friend or two!
For more information, call the Westfield Athenaeum at (413) 568-7833 or visit us on the web at www.westath.org.
The series is free and open to the public.
