Mary M. Knight Teacher Appreciation Banquet 5/26/05

I used one of my saved holidays from my day job as an ad guy at the local paper for today's gig, since it was from about 3:45 to almost 5 pm, and a 40 minute drive from Shelton. The drive was pleasant, the school was wonderful and the staff were outstanding. Every detail of the food and decor were top class, and I really enjoyed the restaurant-grade chocolate cake with raspberry filling. The teachers really enjoyed hearing me play as they took in the banquet; one teacher told me that it was so nice and relaxing that hearing me every day would be just great if that were possible. After the performance, I was given three pieces of cake to bring home for my wife, my daughter and myself. I would like to thank Terri Frost, Linda Black and the entire staff of Mary M. Knight for hiring me to perform cello solos, it was a wonderful experience.

I performed selections of classical from Bach, Mozart, etc. and contemporary from Duke Ellington and the Beatles to Phil Collins and Elton John. The latter two compositions were selections from "Tarzan" and "The Lion King" that were particularly well-suited for the occasion.

What a great idea to hold this banquet event to show some recognition and appreciation to the hard working teachers and staff. Other schools and organizations could learn a valuable lesson from the classy people at Mary M. Knight High School, even if they already do something like this.

Aleiha (Tobey) & Michael Dennis Wedding, May 14, 2005

The little Allyn Historic Chapel was the perfect setting for an intimate wedding, and I was delighted with how wonderfully my Bach cello solos filled the chapel with beautiful music from my corner up front as everyone came in and sat down, starting at about 12:30. Pastor Terry Oliver of the New Community Church of Union did an excellent job and I felt the ceremony was inspirational without being too long. The photographer, Amber Williamson of Sunlight Photography, took lots of pictures from every possible angle and I am sure they are going to be absolutely beautiful. It was a simple, short ceremony led by the pastor from the Community Church of Union. After the beautiful young bride and handsome groom kissed, I played them out with the ever-present Wedding March, then the Trumpet Voluntary as everyone headed out to the reception.

For the reception at the Victor Community Hall, I played my non-classical program from the small, well-lit stage. A girl about my daughter's age who I think was a niece of the bride danced on the stage as I played everything from The Beatles to Phil Collins' music from Tarzan, and the dancing just delighted me, because my daughter does the same thing. It did come as a pleasant surprise to me to see a few of people I know at the reception, and we had a nice visit when I took my break and enjoyed some of the wonderful food (I especially liked the chips and fresh guacamole). Gilbert and Howard and Angela told me they had been playing "name that tune" as they listened to my cello solos. A wonderful lady told me she enjoyed my version of Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue and had not expected to hear music from that long ago. I took another short break for the wedding toast, then played until about 4 pm.

Robin Hood Gig, Mother's Day '05

The Robin Hood Restaurant is a wonderful place in Union, Washington on Hood Canal. Not only did I enjoy performing there, I was impressed by the friendly staff, the beauty of the restaurant and its setting, and of course, the excellent food. For Mother's Day, I played from 11am-2pm, with the first half of the time in the restaurant and the rest in the pub area, so that I could be where the people were for their breakfast and lunch buffets. I alternated my program between classical and contemporary throughout, and everyone enjoyed it very much. I would like to thank Kerry for having me perform, and Chet London for his wonderful compliments on my unaccompanied solo cello performance. You may be familiar with Chet London's Special Delivery jazz, featuring Lucy Mitchell on vocal and keyboards, with Mr. London on trumpet. I have heard him perform, and also met with him and spoken with him a few times. He has been a professional musician for a long time, and one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. I certainly look forward to playing at the Robin Hood again soon.

50's Diner Performance

Last night I had the honor of being the first live act to play at the 50's Diner and Smokehouse, which has excellent food and service, yet reasonable prices and an unpretentious atmosphere that is clean, bright and new, with lots of neon and 1950's decor. Everyone loved hearing me play my non-classical set, which is currently about one and a half hours long. When a Beatles song is only about two minutes, it takes a lot of music to fill that amount of time, but I had enough advance notice to prepare, and I did a lot of searching and arranging, and I also bought a bunch of sheet music. To be honest, my contemporary set of cello solos probably has more music from the 1960's than any other period, though it ranges from the 1920's to 2003. I now have my own cello arrangements of classic rock/jazz ballads such as The Girl From Ipanema and Mona Lisa, as well as the obvious choices like Blue Suede Shoes and Peggy Sue. There was a capacity croud at the restaurant (probably about 50 in the room) when I started, and I was told later that a couple of the larger reservations (for something like 14 and 11) had come specifically to hear me play. Applause came for A Day In The Life (Beatles), I'll Have to Say I Love You In A Song (Jim Croce) and Puttin' On The Ritz (Irving Berlin). The applause always makes me smile, and though I have some regret that I didn't have the courage to start performing as a cello soloist earlier in my life, everything feels like it is as it should be. Next time I play at the 50's Diner, I'm going to bring a camera, and begin a collection of "gig shots."

Tomorrow (Sunday May 8) I am playing at the Robin Hood Restaurant for Mother's Day brunch 11-2. For that one, I'm going back to my old format of classical (Bach, etc.) mixed right in with contemporary songs. Depending on how I feel, I will take either one or two breaks.

Today I am going to spend some time putting some original songs I wrote for vocal in college into cello arrangements for myself. Next Saturday, I'm playing for a wedding in Allyn.