©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Pastorius Park concert series opens with a winner
by MICHAEL CARUSO

FREE SUMMER CONCERT: The pealing of bell music will again ring out as the St. Thomas’ Carillon at St. Thomas’ Church, Bethlehem Pike and Camp Hill Road, Fort Washington, resumes its annual concert series on Tuesday, July 4, 7 p.m., rain or shine, with carillonneur, Lisa Lonie (seen here). Summer Concerts 2006 will be held every Tuesday until August 2. Admission is free. Enjoy a unique evening of music – bring your picnic, blanket, lawn chair, or listen from your parked car. Open tower tours will be held beginning at 8 p.m. For more information, call 215-233-3970.

It wasn’t the intention of Phil Roy and El Dinero to open the season of outdoor concerts in Pastorius Park, but the weather fates conspired to make that happen this past Wednesday, June 21. Fortunately for the concert planners of the Chestnut Hill Community Association and sponsors Legacy Real Estate and State Representative Cherelle L. Parker, the rains stayed away while local music lovers came in droves to hear an evening of beautifully written and expertly performed music.

These concerts tend to draw as diverse a swath of the local community as any series that I encounter, and last week’s was no exception. The beautiful lawns of Pastorius Park were filled with extended families and hosts of friends to enjoy the good music and experience the communal spirit.

Phil Roy’s music is a curious blend of nifty folk and gentle rock that places heavy emphasis on the lyrics without undervaluing the importance of the tunes. His themes often focus on the subtle intricacies of human relationships, expressing a longing hopefulness that respect for one another and for all might become society’s predominant trait.

The words of his songs are often sophisticated and clever, starting with swank rhythms beneath lilting melodies that are soon punctuated with spiky accents and tart harmonies. In the end, each number creates a tiny universe of personal revelation that touches the heart of the listener.

I was particularly impressed by “The Fight for Love,” “Undeniably Human” and “This Business of Love.”

TALENTED HILL ‘GYPSIES’: The Chestnut Hill-based band Gypsophilia will perform in concert at the Morris Arboretum in Chestnut Hill on Thursday, July 6, 6:30 to 8 p.m., with belly dancer Aleta. The concert is free with regular garden admission of $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for students with I.D. Gypsophilia will feature their original repertoire by composer/founder Scott Robinson (standing, left), whose music combines Turkish and Indian Sufi music with Jewish traditions, Gregorian chant, ethnic percussion and more. For more information, call 215-247-5777 or visit www.gypsophilia.com.

Roy is an expressive singer and an excellent guitarist, but John Lilly’s work as lead solo guitar was particularly memorable, especially in “This Business of Love.” Bassist Sean Hill and keyboard player Jim Lint were exemplary throughout the program, with drummer Carl Barone offering a tasteful yet vibrant underpinning of tempo and pulse.

IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The Philadelphia Orchestra will bring its series of Neighborhood Concerts to three new sites this summer. The orchestra will perform in Villanova University Stadium, July 3, at Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River waterfront July 5, and in Camden, New Jersey, July 7. All three concerts are free and open to the public. Curtain time is 7 p.m.

The orchestra’s associate conductor, Rossen Milanov, will lead the program in Villanova, featuring Shostakovich’s “Festival” Overture, Borodin’s “Polovtsian” Dances from the opera Prince Igor, Dvorak’s “Carnival” Overture, Beethoven’s “Egmont” Overture and Stravinsky’s suite from the ballet The Firebird. Milanov is also the music director of the orchestra’s summer season at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Fairmount Park, where it is currently presenting a five-week schedule of concerts.

For Chestnut Hillers, the Villanova site is the most convenient and accessible. Just take Germantown Pike to I-476, then south on the Blue Route to the Rte. 30 Villanova/St. David’s exit, then go east on Lancaster Pike for about a mile and the University Stadium will be on your left.

The orchestra’s series of Neighborhood Concerts is a favorite project of Hal Sorgenti. Formerly president of the Academy of Music under whose watch the “Grand Old Lady of Locust Street” was renovated and modernized without any loss of its historic Victorian beauty, Sorgenti is now chairman of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association. He was instrumental in the recent hiring of James Undercofler as the association’s CEO/president, succeeding the recently retired Joseph Kluger.

JAZZY HILLER PERFORMS: Jimi Odell, a Chestnut Hill resident and jazz musician for more than 50 years, will appear at LaRose Club, 5531 Germantown Ave. in Germantown on Saturday, July 1, with his quartet, “A Change of Pace.” Skip Wilkins will play keys, and Daniel Wilkins will join them on sax. They will perform two sets at 8 and 10 p.m. For more information, call 215-248-4415 or 215-844-5818.

“These free concerts are important to the orchestra’s goal of attracting new audiences to its concerts, people who don’t normally attend our programs during the regular season at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall,” Sorgenti said. “The idea behind them is to provide exposure to audiences out there that aren’t already familiar with the orchestra and our concerts in the city.”

Sorgenti believes that times have changed. Whereas it once was the case that almost all Philadelphians, both urban and suburban, were familiar with the Philadelphia Orchestra and attended at least a few of its concerts every year, that is no longer typical. That generational familiarity, for one reason or another, has been broken. With the total cost of an evening out to hear a concert by the Philadelphians in Verizon Hall for an entire family being admittedly steep, opportunities such as these free concerts in the neighborhood can prove invaluable for the orchestra’s efforts to reach new audiences.

Edward Cambron, who oversees the orchestra association’s efforts to attract new audiences and service current subscribers, emphasizes the principal motivation for these concerts. But he readily acknowledges that even well-to-do people and families, such as those who predominate on the Main Line, often hesitate to attend an orchestra concert without some prior experience. These free concerts often spark an interest that might otherwise have rested dormant.

Cambron points out that in preparation for the Villanova concert, his office has sent out 119,000 postcards promoting the event. Surveys are taken at the concert, to be followed up by a second mailing. He states that about one half of those attending do, in fact, purchase a ticket to a subsequent performance, although he admits that it usually takes a major event — such as a big Beethoven or Tchaikovsky program — to draw them back.

Getting audience members to commit to long term subscriptions, which were once the typical arrangement, has become harder and harder. Sorgenti points to the plethora of competing entertainment options nowadays available to the broad public as a reason why audience members hesitate to commit far in advance of the actual performance.

“The audience is out there,” Sorgenti forcefully asserted. “You can see that from Internet sales of recordings like that of the Beethoven symphonies offered online by the BBC. Sold out immediately! We’ve just got to reach them.” For more information, call 215-893-1988 or visit www.philorch.org/neighborhood.