Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

Rangeley Friends of the Arts will sponsor two programs to celebrate the Christmas season:  December 7^th Christmas Concert by the Rangeley Community Chorus and December 11^th “Walk to Bethlehem” pageant.

The 34th annual “Walk to Bethlehem” to be held in Rangeley on Sunday, December 11^th is a gift to the community from The Rangeley Friends of the Arts. Walkers and carolers are invited to join the beautifully costumed pageant participants as they stroll through the streets of Rangeley, stopping at each of the four churches (Catholic, Baptist, Congregational, Episcopal) asking for a place to stay.  Each year, this reenactment of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago is a joyous evening in Rangeley.

Each year, a local couple with their new baby portrays Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.  Many townsfolk portray shepherds, angels, Three Wise Men.  The elegant costumes created by Barbara Meservey decades ago are still used today.  The celebration begins at 5:30 PM on the steps of The Rangeley Inn as the proclamation is read: “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” (Luke 2:1-15)

The evening concludes at the Church of the Good Shepherd with a program that highlights local musicians and performers.  This year’s program will feature the Rangeley Bell Ringers, Rangeley Community Chorus, Young Children’s Choir, the RLRS Choir and a dance number by the Lakeside Dance Academy.  The pageant participants will process to the front of the Church of the Good Shepherd as the Christmas scripture is read.  “Silent Night” will conclude the program as everyone will then gather in the Undercroft for refreshments and continue the celebration as a community.

2010 Photo of Walk to Bethlehem Pageant

Mary, Joseph and the Babe..                                                          Lindsay, Brad, Elyse Kennett

Three Wise Men……………Rudy Davis, Les Hoekstra, George Washington

Shepherds…………………. Ian Lillis, Nash Gagnon, Joseph Emerson

Angels…………………….…Sophie Chu-O’Neil, Amber Morrill

Chamber Music Concert August 10, 2011

The Woodland Chamber Ensemble, which drew a large enthusiastic
audience last summer, will perform again on Wednesday, August 10, at
7:00 P. M. in the Church of the Good Shepherd.  Sponsored by the RFA
(Rangeley Friends of the Arts,) the concert will feature musicians Sue
Downes-Borko:flute, piano, and voice; Lee Lenfest: French horn; Helen
Plotkin: cello; Henry Plotkin: violin and viola;  Gail Russ: oboe,
clarinet, and English horn; and pianists Barbara Ulman and Andrea
Keirstead.

The concert encompasses compositions from the Baroque era
through the classical to contemporary.   Some of the music to be
presented includes Mozart’s trio for clarinet, viola, and piano; a
Haydn trio for flute, violin, and cello; a piece for flute, oboe,
viola, cello, and keyboard by Baroque composer Janitsch;  Gaubert’s
Tarentelle for flute, oboe, and piano — a perpetual motion depiction
of a myth about tarantulas; and compositions by Randall Thompson,
ensemble member Barbara Ulman, and several others.

About the Musicians:

Sue Downes-Borko received a Music Education degree from the
University of Massachusetts.  She has been a high school music
teacher in the state of Alaska, a staff accompanist for the College
of New Jersey, and a member of several flute quartets.   Sue is the
director of the Rangeley Community Chorus and has participated in
many local music productions.  Currently, she operates a private
lesson studio and is the Minister of Music for the Rangeley
Congregational Church.

Andrea Keirstead, of Farmington, studied social anthropology at
Harvard University.  She teaches at Mt. Blue Regional School
District, and has performed on the piano for many events in this
area.  Recently she was the pianist for Footloose in Rangeley.

Lee Lenfest is a retired civil engineer who completed 33 years
with the U.S. Geological Survey before moving north to enjoy the good
life Maine has to offer.  Lee has played horn with orchestras and
bands at duty stations in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, and Virginia.  He is
currently principal horn with the Augusta Symphony Orchestra and U.
of Maine – Farmington Concert Band, and has also enjoyed engagements
at Monmouth Theater and the Waterville Opera House.

Helen Plotkin grew up in a musical household, playing cello with her father (Henry) and other family members.   She studied at Swarthmore College, University of Michigan, and Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.   She spends her summers on Lake  Mooselookmeguntic with her family.  During the academic year, she teaches Biblical Hebrew and ancient Hebrew texts at Swarthmore
College, and she works as a rabbi-educator in the local Jewish community.

Henry Plotkin is a chamber music enthusiast who has played his violin and viola in ensembles in Rangeley as a summer resident and in his home in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.  He is a
physicist, and has served as science researcher and manager at the US Army Signal Corps, NASA, and UMBC (University  of Maryland, Baltimore County) while continuing his parallel musical avocation. After acquiring his Oquossoc home in 1992, he became a competitor in the Rangeley Fiddlers Contest, and later participated as a judge.

Gail Russ teaches instrumental music in Maine School Administrative District 58, which includes Phillips, Kingfield, Strong, Stratton and Salem.   Since moving to Maine in 2005, she has played oboe, clarinet, and English horn for the Camden Pro Musica Orchestra, Monmouth Theater, Lewiston/Auburn Community Theater, the Bangor Symphony, and other bands and orchestras in the area.   She says, “I have the best ‘job’ ever: children and music; I have been blessed!”

Barbara Ulman began piano lessons at age seven, and has had an active musical life.  She earned a B.A. from Harvard/Radcliffe, while also studying piano chamber music at the nearby Longy School of
Music.  In 1989 she completed a second B.A., in Music Theory and Composition, at California
State University, Fresno.  Off-season, she lives in the foothills near Yosemite  National Park. She has
spent summers on Rangeley Lake all her life, at a camp that has been in her family since 1915.   She plays chamber music for fun and for public performance, and also composes art songs and music for small ensembles and for chorus.

Tickets for the concert ($15) can be purchased at the Chamber of Commerce and also at the door on August 10.   For further information, please call Barbara at 864-3629.

RFA DIVA

Rehearsals are well underway and the excitement is building.  Award Winning Divas sing award winning songs!–The RFA Diva shows will be held July 27, 28, 29 at the Saddleback Base Lodge in Rangeley at 7:30 PM.  This very popular show has a new location with beautiful sunsets and expansive views and new time.  Reserved seat ($20) and general admission ($15) tickets are available at the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce 6 Park Road– stop by to select your seats (864-5364). The extremely talented performers have been rehearsing and preparing a very powerfully entertaining show that you will not want to miss.  Doris Day, Peggy Lee, Carrie Underwood, Queen, Rosemary Clooney and many more will delight the audience.  One thing is for sure; this show will explode with talent and be filled with many surprises