First Annual Joseph & Viola Marshall Memorial Benefit Concert: Supporting high school and college students study in the film and media arts. Slated for Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

Providence, RI (May 16, 2008) Music is all around us. Stop. Listen. You will hear it.

Each of us has music that we associate with various points in our lives. Like a soundtrack in a motion picture, music serves as a trigger, bringing back a flood of memories that make up who we are. For most, music can spark a sentimental journey that can be wistful, engaging and filled with longing for what is now past.

What composes the music of any life? On Friday, May 30th, a unique concert and multi-media event will attempt to answer that question. Taking place at Providence's Columbus Theatre Arts Center, "Sentimental Journey," reunites the popular chamber ensemble "Music for a While," for an evening of music and song. This program will launch a yearlong series of concerts to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Flickers Arts Collaborative, producers of the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

"Sentimental Journey" takes a musical look at popular and contemporary music from the World Wars, interpreted by Julibeth Andrews, soprano; Eric Bronner, tenor; Vaughn Bryner, baritone; and Nancy Nicholson, piano. The program will feature multi-media projections to bridge the musical story that unfolds.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. and is under the musical direction of Eric R. Bronner. Recommended donation: $15; $10 for seniors and students. A reception to meet the performers will follow the concert. Tickets will be available at the door the night of the concert, and are on sale online now at <http://www.film-festival.org/MusicOfALife.php>.

All proceeds will go to the Joseph and Viola M. Marshall Scholarship Fund; a portion of each ticket is tax deductible as allowed by law.

About the Concert & the Music

What makes up the music of a life? There was a reason that the Americans who grew up between World I and World War II were called the "Great" generation. Their lives and loves reflected some of the most significant changes that would ever take place in this country. From the collapse of Wall Street to the Great Depression; from the New Deal to the creation of Social Security; from the attack on Pearl Harbor to a World War that was fought in both the Atlantic and Pacific arenas; and from the Atomic bomb to the United Nations, they truly lived their lives on the edge. For them, the future was what they wanted to make of it. They set the pace for the growth of the United States into a world power. They knew the meaning of sacrifice and they had an abiding love for their country.

The music that was popular at the time reflected the zeitgeist of the period. It spoke of longing, love and survival with an optimism that we seem to have lost today. Even in the darkest hour, the music gave a sense of hope and future. 

"Sentimental Journey" is a trip back to a time to an era when both music and lyrics had a form that touched the heart and for many filled the soul. This was music that would become a part of each individual's life. This was music that brought back memories of a time and place, now long gone. This was music of a life.

The program has been created to pay tribute to and support a scholarship named after two of the founding members of the Flickers Arts Collaborative and the Rhode Island International Film Festival: Joseph and Viola M. Marshall. A Scholarship Fund in their name has been established to support high school and college students in the study of the film and media arts.

About "Music for a While"

The Flickers Arts Collaborative brought together soprano Julibeth Andrews, tenor Eric Bronner, and pianist Nancy Nicholson in the summer of 1993 for a concert of Japanese Art Songs presented at Brown University's Bell Art Gallery. The three then formed the trio "Music for a While" and presented concerts throughout Rhode Island and the New England region for the next dozen years. The trio also founded and ran the Jamestown Chamber Music Series, under the auspices of Flickers, for six seasons. Each is thrilled to come together again in support of this Flickers scholarship fund. They will be joined by baritone, Vaughn Bryner for this event.

About the Artists

Julibeth Andrews, soprano—of Jamestown, is a singer and teacher in demand. She has appeared with the Sierra String Quartet in San Francisco. With Chicago's Mostly Music Inc., she sang in many premieres and performed in a national broadcast. Local audiences have heard her perform roles with Ocean State Light Opera, and solos with Swanhurst Chorus. In 1992 she was chosen to sing for Sherrill Milnes at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Conference. In 1994 she was a finalist in the Chloe Owen American Art Song Competition. In 1998 she received the Goldovsky Fellowship for opera direction from the National Opera Association. With a Master of Music degree from URI, she teaches voice and performance technique at Roger Williams University, and in her private studio, VoiceImages.

Eric Bronner, Tenor, M.M., M.S., CMVT, CSVW—of Riverside, RI, performs opera, oratorio, art song, chamber music, music theater, and cabaret throughout New England, and has also performed as a soloist nationally and abroad. His performances have aired on BBC radio, NPR, and PBS. Credits include the Aldeburgh Music Festival (England), First Coast Opera (St. Augustiine, FL), Napa (CA) Zarzuela Festival, and Townsend Opera (Modesto, CA). He performs regularly with American Classics (Boston), Opera Providence (RI), and the Newport Baroque Orchestra (RI). Press reviews include “terrific” by the St. Augustine Record (FL), “impressive” by the Stockton Record (CA), “a clear tenor voice that beautifully sailed with ease” in the Providence Journal (RI), and “deft comic acting” in the Boston Globe (MA). Favorite roles include Ferrando (Cosi), Tamino (Flute), Pedrillo (Seraglio), Alfred (Fledermaus), Basilio (Figaro), Frederick (Pirates), Ralph (Pinafore), among others. He teaches voice, speech, and aesthetics at Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University. He earned his M.M. on scholarship from Longy School of Music (Cambridge, MA), a B.A. in Theatre from Purdue University, an M.S. in Journalism from Ohio University, and studied at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies in England. He has authored three articles in the Journal of Singing, published by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He has served as musical director for Flickers Arts Collaborative for many years organizing concerts and recording projects.

Nancy Nicholson, piano, of Providence, has appeared as piano soloist regionally, nationally, and abroad at Royal Festival Hall's Purcell Room (London), and at the Salle Cortot and Schola Cantorum (Paris). A specialist in French music, she was twice a featured performer at the prestigious French Piano Institute in Paris. She has served on the music faculties of Notre Dame Univesity (Philippines), Cape Cod Conservatory, Cape Cod Community College, the Wheeler School, and manages her own thriving music studio in Providence. Her latest passion for the organ works of J.S. Bach led her to formal organ study, and to many organ benches in area churches where she is a frequent guest organist. She is active in chamber music performances throughout southern New England. Nancy performed with Julie and Eric in the trio “Music for a While” and together, they created and directed six seasons of the Jamestown Chamber Music Series.

THE WHO, WHAT AND WHERE OF IT:

WHAT: “Sentimental Journey”

WHEN: Friday, May 30, 2008; 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Columbus Theatre Arts Center, 270 Broadway, Providence. For more information, please call 401.861-4445. 

WHO: The Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Flickers Arts Collaborative.

HOW MUCH: : $15, $10 for seniors and students. 

WHY: To celebrate the reunion of “Music for a While,” and benefit the Joseph and Viola M. Marshall Scholarship Fund: Supporting high school and college students study in the film and media arts.

ABOUT THE RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:

The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) discovers and empowers filmmakers.  Held in Providence, and locations throughout the state of Rhode Island, RIIFF is one of only a handful of festivals worldwide that is a qualifying event for the Academy Awards (i.e. “Oscars”).  RIIFF incorporates gala celebrations, premiere screenings, VIP guests, industry seminars, educational programs, and award ceremonies into a week long extravaganza.  Cited as one of the "Best International and Short Film Festivals in the United States," RIIFF is New England’s largest film festival, screening a record 300 films.  Its innovative programming, cultivated industry ties, and loyal audiences have made the Festival a strategic and desirable platform for film premieres, drawing hundreds of independent filmmakers from around the globe.