Tapestry Singers will be joined by an amazing group of instrumentalists for concerts at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 14 and 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 15 at the Damariscotta Baptist Church.
The concerts, entitled “Tapestry Unraveled,” depart from the chorale’s regular classical fare and dive into a full concert of jazz arrangements. The program will include Will Todd’s “Jazz Missa Brevis,” Ola Gjeilo’s “Evening Prayer,” and arrangements by Paris Rutherford, Darmon Meader, Deke Sharon, Ward Swingle, and others.
Guitarist Gary Wittner has performed with numerous jazz luminaries on five continents, representing the USA as a Kennedy Center jazz ambassador, a Fulbright specialist, and U.S. Embassy outreach artist. He has released seven CDs. His book “Thelonious Monk for Guitar” has informed guitarists worldwide since its publication in 1999.
Wittner is a faculty member at the University of Southern Maine School of Music and Bowdoin College.
Bassist Joshua DeScherer’s compositions have been performed by The Sage City Symphony, the Tufts University New Music Ensemble, and by various soloists and chamber ensembles. He has been a performing artist with St. Mary Schola in Portland, Colby, and Bowdoin symphony orchestras and given solo recitals at Hallwalls in Buffalo, N.Y., and Kennebec Valley Community College. He currently teaches at Kennebec Valley Community College.
Saxophonist and reed doubler Glen Sargent has played with Al Corey Big Band, Pat Michaud Big Band, Fire N’Ice Big Band, Jump City Jazz, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Roy Orbison Hologram Tour, The Manhattan Transfer, Northeast Swing, Wayne Bergeron, Eric Marienthal, and various touring musicals. He has performed as a clarinetist with Bangor Symphony Orchestra, Maine Grand Opera Orchestra, and Maine Pro Musica. Sargent offers top quality instrument repair at his business, Second Wind.
Jackson Cromwell, a member of the artist faculty at University of Maine Augusta, specializes in percussion, drum set, keyboard, and instruments. He attended the University of Maine at Orono, studying classical percussion and mallet percussion. He performs with the Americana band Golden Oak and various other ensembles.
Sean Fleming is a highly sought-after keyboard artist, accompanist, and arranger who performs with numerous choral ensembles in Maine. He also leads the Sean Fleming Ragtime Band and Dixieland Band. Fleming plays with Amethyst Chamber Ensemble and he is a member of the Maine Friends of Music. He has played for over 80 musical theater productions, notably with Heartwood Regional Theater Co. and the Watts Hall Community Players. Fleming serves as the organist for St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Newcastle.
