Mendon hosts Concert in the Park Series
Mendon City, with support from RAPZ (restaurant, arts, parks, and zoo tax), is hosting a concert-in-the-park series featuring Stonecircle, Sarah Sample, and John Boy’s Mule. All three concerts are on Monday evenings, beginning at 7 pm at Pioneer Park in Mendon (100 N and 200 W). Concerts are free and open to the public. Please bring your own chairs or blankets. The celtic band Stonecircle starts the series on July 30th, Singer- songwriter Sarah Sample performs Aug 6th, followed by the acoustic variety band John Boy’s Mule on August 13th.
Stonecircle is a seasoned celtic band that has it all-great vocals, great instrumentals, exceptional arrangements, and even dancing! The band features Krista Baker on violin, George Schumaker on guitar, harmonica, and vocals, Nina Cooley on flute, percussion, and background vocals, Brian Dobson on uilleann pipes, irish whistle, and bodhran, and Mary Johnston-Coursey on vocals, whistles and percussion.
Mary is a professional dancer and choreographer who learned to sing at a very young age. She has studied piano and voice and performed in Ireland on the local folk circuit. Krista started studying piano at age 7 and violin at age 9. At the University of Utah, she played in the Honors String Quartet. She holds a B.S. in Accounting and a Master’s in Business Administration. Nina Cooley has a degree in music from Evergreen State College and a minor in Music Theater. She currently teaches Kindergarten and private piano, flute and voice lessons. Additional talents include fluency in Greek, Spanish, and Japanese, as well as dance choreography. Brian Dobson roots lie in New England, but spent most of his life in UT and CA. He began clarinet at age 8 and played for several years. In 1999, he began his exploration of the Irish whistle, soon advancing to low whistles, flute, bodhran, and uilleann pipes-one of the most difficult of Irish traditional instruments. He has appeared as a guest performer with international artists such as Gaelic Storm, Young Dubliners, and the Chieftans. George Schumaker, the band’s leader, was born in Montreal, Quebec into a musical family and speaks fluent French. He began teaching himself guitar at age 6. His musical roots include Irish, Scottish, British, Peruvian, German, and Dutch influences, as well as influences from progressive rock and jam bands, celtic artists like Altan, and fingerstyle guitarists like Pierre Bensusan. He studied classical and rock guitar in his teens. While living in France, he developed an interest in the music of Brittany. He has a PhD in Folklore and Cultural Studies. George has been the driving force behind the longevity and success of Stonecircle. The band now has 5 CDs to their credit: Serendipity (1997), Alchemy (2001), In Concert (2003), Winter Sky (2005), and a new retrospective album, Asterisk and Dragonflies (2007). For more, see www.stonecirclemusic.com
Sarah Sample is a singer songwriter from Utah who recorded her debut album Rotate in 2004. With influences from contacts with Amy Speace, Stacey Earle, Vance Gilbert and Christine Kane, she continued to hone her craft. Moves from Utah to Austin, Texas to Wyoming to Seattle also helped broaden her songwriting and outlook on life. She has been a featured guest at Utah State’s Mountain West Songfest and Symposium. Sarah was also a finalist at the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association’s songwriting contest. Sarah and her guitar continue to tour around the Intermountain West and she has completed a new CD this year, Never Close Enough. She is engaging, witty, and sings heart-felt songs with a stripped-down sensibility that please without pretense. For more, see www.sarahsample.com.
John Boy’s Mule is based in Park City, but influences come from a lot of directions. The band blends acoustic music together from a variety of sources including olde time, folk, rock, and blues. The band features Karri Dell Hayes on fiddle, clawhammer banjo, and vocals; Ken Sager on mandolin and tenor banjo, Jack Walzer on guitar and vocals, Rod Riley on Dobro and lead guitar, and Mark Viar on upright bass. The band has been together since 2003. Ken Sager teaches mandolin and gave up a professional career to play music. He has released a fine solo project CD this year in which he plays all the instruments. Rod Riley is an exceptionally good studio musician from Nashville that recently joined the ‘mules’. These guys really have a great groove and a good time doing it. For more, see www.johnboysmule.com.
Krista Baker is a native of Salt Lake City, Utah but has traveled extensively throughout her of Utah where she was heavily involved in music and played in the Honors String Quartet. She holds a B.S. in Accounting and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Utah. Krista has had several wonderful performance opportunities to play violin with Ballet West, Promised Valley Playhouse Orchestra, City Rep Orchestra, and string quartet performances throughout the state of Utah.