Fundraiser Benefit “Bach and Bourbon”
Join The Old Guitarist and special guest Cinnamon, for an afternoon of music which will include works by Bach, Mozart,Michael Hedges, & original compositions of The Old Guitarist.
The concert is a fundraiser, and all profits will go to charity, specifically to fund instruments and financial aid for the children of Litchfield county so that they can participate in guitar and piano classes offered by the The Village Music School.
The compositions of The Old Guitarist have been described by The Journal News as “… vaguely akin to rock and roll but infinitely more subtle.” WNYC, the NPR affiliate in New York City praised The Old Guitarist and his companions as “…a great group.”
A splendid time is guaranteed for all, come for the Bach stay for the Bourbon
Here is a link to the Eventbrite page: Bach & Bourbon
After School Allstars Fundraising Event
Yesterday we attended the After-School Allstars Spring Fling: Music to My Ears Fundraising event in Falls Church, Virginia, with performances by The Old Guitarist and vocalist Mike Freeze. Mike Freeze and The Old Guitarist are both members of the Village Music School, and kindly donated their time and skills for this event. After-School Allstars is a non-profit organization that provides free, comprehensive after-school programs. We are proud to be partnering with them, beginning in the fall, as a pilot program at 3 D.C. schools, with plans to expand in the future.
Second Benefit Concert, in Memory of Patrick Dillery, Was a Great Success!
The second benefit concert for The Village Music School Foundation was held on Sunday, March 7, 2021. The main performing group is called the FOG Cuartet. The odd spelling is because the group is comprised of a Flutist, an Oboist, a Guitarist (FOG) and a Cellist (the C of Cuartet). The program included works of Bach, Mozart, Ravel, and Dolan. The concert was presented by Musical Associates. It was free to watch, but donations were requested, and were greatly appreciated!
This concert was in memory of The FOG Cuartet’s flutist, Patrick Dillery, who passed away in the fall of 2020. The introduction was given by Kevin, whose heartfelt explanation of the purpose of the concert was followed by three brief performances by our students. The FOG Cuartet then played its program with some special performances of music in Patrick’s memory.
The Foundation greatly appreciates all donations made during and after that concert in memory of our friend, Patrick Dillery.
Announcing Second Benefit Concert, in memory of Patrick Dillery
This concert is the second benefit for the The Village Music School Foundation. The group is called the FOG Cuartet. The odd spelling is because the group is comprised of a Flutist, an Oboist, a Guitarist (FOG) and a Cellist (the C of Cuartet). The program includes works of Bach, Mozart, Ravel, and Dolan. The concert is presented by Musical Associates and is free, but donations will be requested.
This concert is in memory of the FOG Cuartet’s flutist, Patrick Dillery, who passed away last fall. The introduction is given by Kevin, who gives a heartfelt explanation of the purpose of the concert. Following his intro, there are three brief performances by our students, and then The FOG Cuartet plays its program. The entire concert is just under an hour long. The video will be available for viewing through Sunday, March 14, 2021.
First Benefit Concert! Link
is below
The YouTube Link is available at 2:00PM Eastern.
Link will close on Monday, February 8, 2021 at 5PM Eastern.
The Village Music School Foundation is thrilled to announce our first major fundraising event. Presented by Musical Associates, a live-streamed concert will be held on January 10, 2021 at 2 pm at Catholic University on Washington, DC.
This Event is FREE, but donations to the Foundation are encouraged.
Announcing a new classical music duo: Brittany Young and the Old Guitarist
Performing in a benefit for The Village Music School Foundation
presented by
Musical Associates
WASHINGTON, DC (October, 2020)— Violinist Brittany Sterling Young is teaming up with classical guitarist Peter Dolan, and they are playing together in public for the first time as Brittany Young and the Old Guitarist in a benefit concert for The Village Music School Foundation, presented by Musical Associates, the entertainment division of The Village Music School, Inc. Biographies of the two performers are included below.
This new classical music team will perform works by Handel, Haydn, Debussy, and Paul Dolan. The Program may be examined below.
The concert will occur on Sunday January 10, 2021 at Catholic University, Washington, DC at 2:00. The concert will be live-streamed via Facebook Live.
The Village Music School Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity established to foster a deeper understanding of the breadth of the world of music through a variety of activities. Among the most significant of those activities is to provide needs-based scholarships for music lessons from its sister organization, The Village Music School, Inc. (See below for more information about the School.) Formed in 2019, the Foundation also provides music instruction in schools and districts which work only with nonprofits. In addition, it supports certain other musical endeavors, such as the New England Conservatory Summer Guitar Festival, as well as community choir North River Sing.
About The Village Music School
Established in 1988, The Village Music School is founded on the principle that music can help children to experience the joy of achievement and pride of accomplishment. With TheVMS’s methods, a child can play a song after the very first lesson! Each year hundreds of school-age students in Connecticut, New York and Washington D.C. work with trainers, teachers, and master teachers in small group settings to explore music and have fun. With onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Village Music School adapted its popular afterschool program to offer four-week small group online music instruction sessions to beginner musicians ages five to twelve years old. Registration for weekly lessons in guitar, violin and piano is open to students. At the end of each twelve-week session, students will participate in an informal virtual recital.
“With so many afterschool programs and activities canceled and parents shouldering the burden of educating children at home, we’re excited to create a virtual environment that connects students in the community and removes barriers to high quality music education,” said Carter Huntley, one of the directors of The Village Music School. “While the delivery method may have shifted, our goal to provide an opportunity for everyone to enjoy and experience music remains the same today as it was when we opened our studio 30 years ago. Today in this era of social distancing it means even more to come together and help children and families experience the joy of achievement and pride of accomplishment.”
Huntley’s company formed The Village Music School Foundation in 2019 to bring broader truth to The VMS’s motto, Everyone Is Musical. “Music education has manifold positive effects on children, and the ability to pay for lessons should never be a roadblock to expanding a child’s horizons and learning more about the universal language of music,” added Huntley.
The Village Music School Lesson groups are designed to accommodate a wide range of student ages and abilities. Master instructors lead students through a customized instructional program designed to help students quickly establish confidence and foster independence while learning how to make music. The world-class faculty of The Village Music School share both a profound knowledge of their art as well as a love of teaching. Instructors include Miss Young, performing in this concert, Huntley himself, who holds a master’s degree in guitar from Yale University, and Patrick Dillery, a flutist who has played and taught around the world. Additional faculty members include the highly acclaimed saxophonist Gottfried Stoger, veteran percussionist Bob Meyer, who has performed in many professional jazz ensembles and made over 14 recordings with them, and Sarah Cion, a pianist who placed first in an international jazz competition.
Classes in guitar, violin and piano are now forming, and registration for a four-week lesson package is $99. Small group lessons are 30- to 45-minutes, and rental instruments are available for $15 per 4-week session. In-person instruction in afterschool programs will return when schools reopen.
About Musical Associates
With a teaching roster full of international performers, it was merely a logical step to begin an Entertainment Division of TheVMS. Musical Associates represents artists for concerts, clubs, and private events around the country and the world. Our recording division has published recordings of The FOG Trio (Flute, oboe, and guitar) and The FOG Cuartet (the trio plus cello), as well as pieces by Carter Huntley and singer-songwriter Cinnamon (with Huntley). We anticipate the release of recording of this concert as well as an upcoming concert by The Young Trio and The Old Guitarist.
The Program
Jesu, After Bach by Paul Dolan
Largo and Allegro by G. F. Handel, realized by Peter Dolan
Reverie and Arabesque no.2 by Claude Debussy, arranged by Miguel Lobet
Andante and Allegro by F. J. Haydn, arranged by Fernando Carulli
Elogia de la Danza, lento and obstinato, by Leo Brower
1 Prelude, 3 Dances, ridiculously slow, not so fast, real slow, & up, by Paul Dolan
Program Notes
Paul Dolan, (1955-1977), the composer of two of the works on today’s program, was for the most part self-taught. His great uncle Paul Neiderlander played guitar and composed some few works and may have been Dolan’s teacher. Dolan described the Jesu After-Bach as a work that might have been written by J. S. Bach had he been a 20th century Irish American guitarist as opposed to a 17th century German organist.
The Handel are two movements from the flute sonatas, the third movement of the first sonata and the second movement of the fifth sonata. The two work by Debussy are arrangement by Miquel Lobet, the celebrated student of the great Francisco Tarrega, were discovered Spain some years ago. Similarly, the Haydn arrangements by Carulli were recently discovered in collection in Paris.
Composer, guitarist and music director, Leo Brouwer was born in Havana, Cuba in 1939. He studied with Isaac Nicola, Pujol’s pupil and specializing in composition, completed his studies at the Julliard School of Music and at Hartt College of Music. He is celebrated around the world for his compositions.
1 Prelude, 3 Dances, is a work that uses the rhythms of Baroque dances and reimagines them in a contemporary harmonic palette.
About the Musicians
Brittany Sterling Young is a violin teacher with The Village Music School. Recruited by The Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at The Catholic University of America in 2017, Brittany Sterling Young studies with world renowned Italian violinist Alessandra Cuffaro.
Performing both in the United States and Europe, Ms. Young’s musical journey has taken her to the Italian Alps in the summers, where she performs with the Music Academy International as part of the Trentino Music Festival, and to Vienna, Austria where she performs with the Vienna Summer Music Festival.
As a member of the Quartet Cardinale and of the Catholic University Symphony Orchestra, she has also performed at prestigious venues in Washington, D.C. including the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See, the former residence of the Ambassador to Spain, the Embassy of Canada, and the Kennedy Center.
As a member of the Quiller Quartet, Ms. Young made her debut at Carnegie Hall in 2015 as the First Place Winner at the Golden Key International Music Festival.
Peter Dolan, the Old Guitarist, had a long and distinguished career in business. He was a partner at Arthur Young & Company, and later handled the IPO for Matchbox Cars. As a young man, while stationed in London, he had the opportunity to study classical guitar with the Len Williams, father of the world-renowned classical guitarist, John Williams.
He maintained his interest in the guitar over the course of a lifetime attending several of Andres Segovia’s master classes. Now in semi-retirement he has returned to the guitar and performs chamber music three weekends a month.
Mr. Dolan is also an avid fisherman. Although, since he changed his fishing technique from rod and reel to standing in small rivers and streams playing the guitar, hoping a fish might jump into the sound hole, he has yet to catch a fish. He also vehemently denies allegations of Bear Dancing, or Bear wrestling if you will. He asserts that playing the guitar in the woods is solely for the amusement of the squirrels.