August now belongs to Music at Gretna: Rather than being spread out all over the summer, the classical, jazz and pop concerts will be concentrated in that one month. According to Michael Murray, executive director of Music at Gretna, starting the concerts after Gretna Theatre finishes its summer season means the organizations won’t constantly have to switch sets, which means a considerable savings — and more.
“This gives us tremendous opportunities to grow,” Murray says. “We’re feeling the freedom, not only for 2008 but looking ahead.” The concentrated season means artists can stay a little longer and offer more concerts. “It was very difficult to do anything that was different,” Murray says. Now he’s working to “build an awareness that there’s a more multi-faceted performing arts festival in Gretna.”
While classical music and jazz remain the primary focus, a wider variety of acts are bubbling around the edges: Polka master Jimmy Sturr, political satirists the Capitol Steps, Leon Redbone (making his third visit to Mt. Gretna) and the Lascivious Biddies (”part jazz, part pop, part cabaret,” according to the schedule.)
On the classical front, performers include violinist Maria Bachmann, the Wister and Audubon quartets (One Audubon performance will include Carl Ellenberger on flute and dancer Ting-Yu Chen), The New Century Sax quartet, pianist Simon Tedeschi (with saxophonist Owen Watkins), guitarist Allan Krantz, the Lark Chamber Artists with pianist Anna Polonsky, Soprano Priscilla Porterfield with pianist Tom Brown, and the Rodney Mack Philadelphia Big Brass. Jazz musicians on the roster: the twin bill of the Cyrus Chestnut Trio and Nnenna Freelon, the New Black Eagle Jazz Band, the Gerald Veasley Band with Chuck Loeb and Walter Beasley, the Four Freshmen, and violinist Regina Carter. And classic theater will return with a production of “Tartuffe.”
