Celebrate Summer Wednesday 6 June when Limestone District School Board, Blue Skies Music in the Community, Open Voices Community Choir, Gary Rasberry, plus “The Kitchen Gypsies” all team up to present “what if kids ran the world?” – a concert full of summer-fun songs and family sing-alongs. All 750 matinee seats are already filled. However, while they last, early-evening 7 p.m. show tickets are now available for only $10 (15 and under) and $20 (adults) ONLY AT The Grand Theatre box office.
The concerts feature Gary Rasberry (poet, author, teacher, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and Juno-Nominee for Children’s Album of the Year) plus The Kitchen Gypsies (the Kingston-based group that plays the Gypsy Jazz style of music also known as “gypsy swing”, “hot club jazz”, and “Jazz Manouche”, created by Django Reinhardt in France in the 1930’s).
Gary Rasberry has enjoyed a 20-year performance career at festivals including Blue Skies, Northern Lights, Boreal Home County, and Shelter Valley Folk. He lives in Kingston, teaches at Queen’s University, and offers song, story & sound workshops in schools. Gary’s Juno-nominated album, “What’s the Big Idea?!?” is full of the musical echoes of Pete Seeger, a splash of Fred Penner and the nostalgic vibe of songs sung around the campfire. Like his album “The Very Next Day”, his concerts offer a rollicking ride through fields of guitar “pop”, blues and “roots” music.
The Kitchen Gypsies stick to the “classic” line-up of musicians featured in Django Reinhardt’s most famous group, the “Quintette du Hot Club de France”, in which the solo work alternated between Reinhardt on guitar, and jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. The Kitchen Gypsies are: Suzanne Becker (Violin/Vocals), Ray Croxford (Bass), Ray Desrosiers (Accordion/Harmonica/Vocals), Gary Greer (Rhythm Guitar), and Ron Heidebrecht (Lead Guitar/Vocals). They have performed together at festivals, events, gatherings and celebrations in and around Kingston for a many years.
Be sure to bring the kids. As Debra Rantz, Director of Education for this concert’s partners the Limestone District School Board remarks, “The power of live music – going to a concert, performing, or playing an instrument – deepens a student’s appreciation and broadens their minds. The Open Voices concert also demonstrates to students how music is a lifelong enjoyment or skill, and how you can sing and enjoy music your entire life. We can’t thank Open Voices enough for providing such a wonderful opportunity for our students, both as performers and as the audience.”