Ed Willett and Cheryl Leah Chance Quartet
Saturday, September 14th
7:30 pm
CHANCE, the music group founded in Los Angeles by singer Cheryl Leah and cellist Ed Willett, will bring their new ensemble, the Chance Quartet, to Festival Theater on Saturday, September 14th for a 7:30 p.m. concert. Known regionally for their work as lead female vocalist and Music Director/Co-Artistic Director of the "Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua", Leah and Willett have joined forces with two amazing musicians from the ranks of the Big Top’s house band, bassist Jane Aleckson and drummer Tom Mitchell.
Those coming to this concert can expect original music that comes as a result of Leah and Willett's lifelong collaboration, 27 years and counting. They will also hear some covers of well known tunes done in a way they never would have guessed possible, wrapped in the voice of Cheryl Leah, a voice that is simply one of the best in the business.
Concert-goers will also experience that "one of a kind" Tom Mitchell, the drummer that Willett describes as "a joyous musician, one that, if he had any more fun playing music, would probably be arrested for it". Many know Mitchell as both a musician and an actor and when watching him play, you quickly realize he's devised a way to be both simultaneously. Additionally, Tom will most certainly offer up his own unique and colorful observations as the evening progresses.
They will be electrified by Jane Aleckson, the soul sister to Cheryl Leah in this group and as Cheryl describes her, "the funkiest bass player for a hundred miles in any direction". Aleckson has been a mainstay of the area music scene for many years. She has been the leader of her own ten piece "horn band", The Jane Gang as well as a collaborator with many of the area’s finest, including Prudence Johnson and Dean McGraw. In addition to being a member of Chance, Jane is currently the bassist for the Blue Canvas Orchestra.
The one thing audiences can surely expect from the Chance Quartet is great music performed by artists who genuinely enjoy what they do, who enjoy each other, and who love to share it all with an audience.
Tickets for Chance are $21 in advance and $26 at the door, Flex Pass eligible.
Saturday, September 14th
7:30 pm
CHANCE, the music group founded in Los Angeles by singer Cheryl Leah and cellist Ed Willett, will bring their new ensemble, the Chance Quartet, to Festival Theater on Saturday, September 14th for a 7:30 p.m. concert. Known regionally for their work as lead female vocalist and Music Director/Co-Artistic Director of the "Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua", Leah and Willett have joined forces with two amazing musicians from the ranks of the Big Top’s house band, bassist Jane Aleckson and drummer Tom Mitchell.
Those coming to this concert can expect original music that comes as a result of Leah and Willett's lifelong collaboration, 27 years and counting. They will also hear some covers of well known tunes done in a way they never would have guessed possible, wrapped in the voice of Cheryl Leah, a voice that is simply one of the best in the business.
Concert-goers will also experience that "one of a kind" Tom Mitchell, the drummer that Willett describes as "a joyous musician, one that, if he had any more fun playing music, would probably be arrested for it". Many know Mitchell as both a musician and an actor and when watching him play, you quickly realize he's devised a way to be both simultaneously. Additionally, Tom will most certainly offer up his own unique and colorful observations as the evening progresses.
They will be electrified by Jane Aleckson, the soul sister to Cheryl Leah in this group and as Cheryl describes her, "the funkiest bass player for a hundred miles in any direction". Aleckson has been a mainstay of the area music scene for many years. She has been the leader of her own ten piece "horn band", The Jane Gang as well as a collaborator with many of the area’s finest, including Prudence Johnson and Dean McGraw. In addition to being a member of Chance, Jane is currently the bassist for the Blue Canvas Orchestra.
The one thing audiences can surely expect from the Chance Quartet is great music performed by artists who genuinely enjoy what they do, who enjoy each other, and who love to share it all with an audience.
Tickets for Chance are $21 in advance and $26 at the door, Flex Pass eligible.
Lynne Rothrock Lynne Rothrock & the Mood Swingers
Saturday, November 9th
7:30 pm
LYNNE ROTHROCK and the Mood Swingers are coming to town! We loved Lynne's performances this past summer in the casts of Crazy for You and The Foreigner. She thrilled the lucky audience in July with her powerful cabaret singing. Now she's returning with a different show and more top-tier musicians for one swinging night in November.
A graduate of Luther College (B.A. Music/Theatre) and Western Michigan University (M.M. Vocal Performance) Lynne Rothrock is a vocalist/entertainer as well as an arts educator. She has performed as a solo artist at a variety of venues around the United States, including Birdland (NYC), Bluebird Café (Nashville), Davenports Cabaret (Chicago), Bryant Lake Bowl (Minneapolis), Hell’s Kitchen (Minneapolis), Crown & Anchor (Cape Cod, MA) Commonweal Theatre (Lanesboro, MN) Brucemore’s “Cabaret In the Courtyard” (Cedar Rapids, IA), Liars Theatre (Marion, IA) Jewel Theatre (Luther College), Sunshine Theater (Southern Pines, NC), Pinehurst Forum (NC), Duke University’s Bryan Center for the Arts (Durham, NC) and The Manhattan Vocal Jazz Festival at Lincoln Center. She has also worked for theatre companies as perfomer and/or musical director including Festival Theatre (St. Croix Falls, WI), Iowa theatre Artists Company (Amana, IA), Mockingbird Public Theatre (Nashville, TN), Nashville Opera, Sound View Cabaret (Seattle, WA), Chaffin’s Dinner Theatre (Nashville, TN), Seattle Light Opera, Vassar Playhouse (KS) and Mainstage Cabaret (Eugene, OR). Lynne was one of 30 vocalists from around the world selected to attend the prestigious International Cabaret Conference at Yale University in 2011.
Lynne’s band, The Mood Swingers, is comprised of Iowa Blues & Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist RON DEWITTE, keyboardist Gerard Estella of Queens, NY, bass player Dave Ollinger of Milwaukee, WI and drummer Greg Kanz of Cedar Rapids, IA.
Tickets are $21 in advance, $26 at the door, Flex Pass eligible.
Saturday, November 9th
7:30 pm
LYNNE ROTHROCK and the Mood Swingers are coming to town! We loved Lynne's performances this past summer in the casts of Crazy for You and The Foreigner. She thrilled the lucky audience in July with her powerful cabaret singing. Now she's returning with a different show and more top-tier musicians for one swinging night in November.
A graduate of Luther College (B.A. Music/Theatre) and Western Michigan University (M.M. Vocal Performance) Lynne Rothrock is a vocalist/entertainer as well as an arts educator. She has performed as a solo artist at a variety of venues around the United States, including Birdland (NYC), Bluebird Café (Nashville), Davenports Cabaret (Chicago), Bryant Lake Bowl (Minneapolis), Hell’s Kitchen (Minneapolis), Crown & Anchor (Cape Cod, MA) Commonweal Theatre (Lanesboro, MN) Brucemore’s “Cabaret In the Courtyard” (Cedar Rapids, IA), Liars Theatre (Marion, IA) Jewel Theatre (Luther College), Sunshine Theater (Southern Pines, NC), Pinehurst Forum (NC), Duke University’s Bryan Center for the Arts (Durham, NC) and The Manhattan Vocal Jazz Festival at Lincoln Center. She has also worked for theatre companies as perfomer and/or musical director including Festival Theatre (St. Croix Falls, WI), Iowa theatre Artists Company (Amana, IA), Mockingbird Public Theatre (Nashville, TN), Nashville Opera, Sound View Cabaret (Seattle, WA), Chaffin’s Dinner Theatre (Nashville, TN), Seattle Light Opera, Vassar Playhouse (KS) and Mainstage Cabaret (Eugene, OR). Lynne was one of 30 vocalists from around the world selected to attend the prestigious International Cabaret Conference at Yale University in 2011.
Lynne’s band, The Mood Swingers, is comprised of Iowa Blues & Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist RON DEWITTE, keyboardist Gerard Estella of Queens, NY, bass player Dave Ollinger of Milwaukee, WI and drummer Greg Kanz of Cedar Rapids, IA.
Tickets are $21 in advance, $26 at the door, Flex Pass eligible.
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