Mary Palmer opened her home to host a recital by Dr. Gary Wolf on Piano and Mati Braun on Violin. Gary Wolf was Distinguished Professor of Music at UCF and he is Professor Emeritus of music at UCF and is Artist-in-Residence in the Music Department of Rollins College. Mati studied at Juilliard in New York City. He was principle violinist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and he was a violinist with a the New York Philharmonic from 1969-2006. They played Sonatas from 18th & 20th century. Veracini, Mozart, Beethoven & Sibelius. Introducing Beethoven, Mati said, “Beethoven’s music is therapeutic. If I play music at a hospital it would have to be Beethoven. This piece is almost lighthearted although Beethoven was a very serious man.”
Perhaps fifteen to twenty people sat in the living room to listen. Mary collects African drums which added splashes of bright color around the piano. This event was a fundraiser for “A Gift for Music.” AGFM is an offshoot of A Gift for Teaching. Sally Carter the director of A Gift for Music was at the recital to explain the program. This program offers violin lessons twice a week to students in six low income schools around Central Florida. 460 students benefit from the program each year. Third grade students are offered beginning violin classes and fourth and fifth grade students are given the opportunity to continue violin training in advanced classes. The AGFM Orchestra gives advanced students a chance to perform on stage. Students can choose from violin, viola, cello or bass. They rehearse Saturday afternoons and perform several times a year. Students are loaned instruments for home practice. A Gift for Music has touched the lives of over 7,200 students and their families in Central Florida. When a child blossoms and finds a way to express themselves through music, we all benefit. Donations to help keep A Gift for Music running are always accepted.
“What I have in my heart and soul must find a way out. That is the reason for music.”
– Ludwig Van Beethoven
Lone Wolf
The next performer at the Jug-ly Art & Antics fundraiser at the Peacock Room was the Lone Wolf. He set up behind a simplified drum set with a megaphone attached to the base drum. He had a harmonica set up with a brace to hold it to his lips. A tin can hung below the harmonica perhaps for added acoustics. His voice was raspy and deep. Something about singing into a megaphone made the vocals seem bad ass. I worked quickly trying to capture him in the dim light. His drum set was bright green and he disappeared into bloody reds. His girlfriend stood directly in front of the stage checking her iPhone occasionally. He called out to her once, to help him find the slide for his guitar. He was the quintessential one man band.
Next on the line up were the Kitschy Kittens Burlesque Troupe. Suddenly the room was jam packed. A thick wide and tall gentleman stood right in front of me. Two slender women dressed in German Tyrolean dresses got on stage. They each got a beer out of a cooler and popped off the caps. They began a seductive dance to a beer song. I only caught a glimpse of the one girl when she moved to stage right. Soon frilly under garments were flying into the crowd. John Theisen kept picking them up and putting them back on stage. The girls began to sway and stagger as they sipped and danced. Before I could close my mouth and put a pencil to the page, it was over. The girls bounded off the stage, their shiny symbol shaped pasties bouncing. They gathered their garments and exited stage left. Perhaps I’ll have a clean line of sight and get a sketch next time.
Another band started to set up their equipment on the small stage. They were all young college kids in stone washed cut up jeans. The Getbye was emblazoned on a drum set. I considered another sketch but decided I had enough eye candy for one night. I headed home. I had started the evening thinking I would sketch the Bloody Jug Band. I will have to catch them another night. Hopefully plenty of money was raised for a Gift for Music and the Crealde School of Art.