concerts

American singer, songwriter, actor, Josh Groban performed last evening at Darien Lake PAC in front of a contemporary, light-spirited crowd of six thousand people. His last appearance was in 2011 in Buffalo. He performed some hits like “You Raise me Up” and from musicals “Somewhere over the Rainbow,” and “Le Temps des Cathedrales.” 

Sarah McLachlan performed two duets with Josh, one being her own “Angel.” She was the lead opener with songs like "Building a Mystery," "I will Remember You" and "Sweet Surrender." Foy Vance opened for Sarah McLachlan.  

Next concert is tonight featuring Heart with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Cheap Trick, 6:30 p.m.

Sarah McLachlan

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Landmark Society of Genesee County is teaming up with the Genesee Symphony Orchestra for a special concert 4 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 8. 

The concert will feature two slideshows of Genesee County's historic and architectural gems, each set to a different musical piece.  Photographers whose work will appear include Howard Owens, Genesee County Historian Larry Barnes, Landmark Society President Lucine Kauffman, Laurie Baker Oltramari and others.

"It's partly a nostalgic look back," Kauffman said. "There are pictures of buildings that have been lost (as a result of urban renewal). But it ends on a positive note. There is still a lot left in Genesee County that is historically and architecturally significant."

Kauffman said one of the goals of this event is to raise awareness of and pride in this heritage among Genesee County residents, and to encourage good stewardship of what we have.

First, the audience will be treated to Ottorino Respighi's "Church Windows" and a slideshow of windows from various Genesee County churches -- including, among many others:

• St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (Resurrection Parish), Ellicott St. in Batavia
• Temple Emanu-El, Bank St. in Batavia
• St. James Episcopal Church, Route 5 in Batavia
• Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Route 20 in Darien Center
• North Bergen Presbyterian Church, North Bergen Road in Bergen
• Indian Falls United Methodist Church, Route 77 in Corfu
• St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church (Our Lady of Mercy Parish), Route 19 in Le Roy

Next, they will enjoy Charles Ives' "Three Places in New England." The first movement of this song will be set to a slideshow of various Genesee County barns, celebrating the County's agricultural roots. The second movement will accompany images of old Batavia and of buildings being knocked down during urban renewal. Finally, the third movement will score a slideshow of Genesee County sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including:

• Stafford Four Corners Historic District
• Historic Batavia Cemetery
• Alexander Cobblestone Town Hall
• Richmond Memorial Library
• Augustus S. Tryon House (Le Roy)
• Batavia VA Medical Center
• Gifford-Walker Farm (Bergen)

The concert will begin at 4 p.m. at Genesee Community College's Stuart Steiner Theater, at 1 College Road in Batavia. Tickets are $15 for adults, $7 for students, $10 for seniors and $35 for families (parents and children 12 and under).

People may purchase tickets at the door or in advance at the following locations:

• GoArt!, 201 E. Main St. in Batavia
• Roxy's Music Store, 228 W. Main St. in Batavia
• Batavia Senior Center, 2 Bank St. in Batavia
• Bank of Castile, 29 Main St. in Le Roy
• Online at www.geneseesymphony.com/tickets

Photos: Friday's rehearsal. By Howard Owens.

To purchase prints, click here.

Batavia's First Presbyterian Church will be alive with rousing holiday spirit when "Christmas with Vox, a Festival of Carols" comes around on Friday, Dec. 20.

"Vox Lumine," a professional chorus group made up of 25 members from all over Western and Central New York, is performing for the public free of charge at the church, at 300 E. Main St. in Batavia.

Ann Emmans, minister of music at First Presbyterian, says this is going to be "the church's gift to the community."

"We had ('Vox Lumine') at the church for a concert in May," Emmans said, "and it was delightful.  We thought, 'What would be more wonderful than to have them back for Christmas?' "

Costs are being covered by the church's memorial donation funds from the last few years.

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. and will probably run about an hour and a half, according to "Vox Lumine" first tenor Mark Ross.

A reception with Christmas cookies and punch will follow in the church's fellowship area.

The performance will feature 17 Christmas songs, including classics such as "Carol of the Bells" and "Joy to the World" and lesser know works, as well as pieces with different ethnic backgrounds (including Polish and Italian).

Emmans stressed that the music is "non-commercial" and has a "sacred character."

"It's more about the joy of the season," she said.

"(The Christmas season) is a time when people appreciate music even more than they normally do," Ross said, "because it's associated with the events of the holiday."

"Vox Lumine" was formed in March 2010 by founder and director Brandon Johnson, D.M.A, director of choral activities at Houghton College.

Ross, of Batavia, said they have done concerts as far east as Ithaca and as far west as Orchard Park.

Because members live in scattered locations (the member living at the farthest distance from Batavia is from Syracuse), Johnson sends the music to each of them individually. They will come together in two rehearsals between now and Dec. 20 to "meld" (in Emmans' words) what they have learned together. So each will quite literally bring his/her own voice to the performance.

A Houghton graduate, a member of First Presbyterian Church for 41 years and currently commissioned lay pastor at Stone Church Presbyterian in Bergen, Ross is very happy to be a part of the upcoming performance. It coincides with his retirement from New York Central Mutual Insurance, where he worked for 27 years as an insurance adjustor.

"It's a wonderful combination," he said with a smile on his face.

For more information, call the church at 343-0505 or e-mail Emmans at HEmmans@aol.com.

Pictured Emmans and Ross at the First Presbyterian Church sanctuary.

Top photo submitted by Mark Ross.

It turns out there are two sets of Ghost Riders in town, and both will play at Jackson Square tomorrow night.

Batavia resident Dough Mellenthine, one of the directors of the "other" Ghost Riders, describes it as a miniature drum and bugle corps and a "brass choir." They play everything from patriotic tunes to chorales to "fun-filled, good time music" (as worded in a press release).

Formed in 1996 to compete in the Drum Corps Associates (DCA) "World Championship," which is held every year at various locations throughout the country, the Ghost Riders have distinguished themselves numerous times. They have appeared in championships for 15 consecutive years, won the New York State American Legion Crown, and, last year, won the Silver Medal and position of first runner-up at the DCA World Championship with a score of 98.0.

Mellenthine co-directs Ghost Riders along with Rod Keppel. Music is arranged by "World Drum Corps Hall of Fame" and "Buglers Hall of Fame" member Donny Allen. Group members are professional musicians whose experiences range from education to judging music competitions.

"This is not beer tent stuff," Mellenthine said. "I believe we're Batavia's best-kept secret."

Ghost Riders will perform from 8 until 8:30 p.m. at Jackson Square tomorrow night. Mellenthine said they've been practicing all year for this performance, so it ought to be good!

To learn more about Ghost Riders, visit their Facebook page.

Photo submitted by Doug Mellenthine.

Two years ago onstage at the annual Batavia Players holiday show, Malloryann Burk accepted the marriage proposal of her now-husband, Peter Flanagan. In this year's show, titled "A Traditional Christmas," Peter is still a central theme in her performance.

The first show is tonight at 7:30 at St. James Episcopal Church, 405 E. Main St., Batavia. Tickets are $10 and will be sold at the door. The other show is the same time Saturday.

But in the new production, Malloryann's focus will be on her husband's  absence rather than his presence.

She will be singing "Sending you a Little Christmas" to Peter, who has been in Afghanistan since September and will most likely be there until May. The song is one of four that are dedicated to Flanagan, a Marine corporal and the father of their 5-month-old son, Gabriel.

"When we were planning the show, we knew we wanted to do something for the troops overseas, and that we wanted to send that message of love and support for them," director Pat Burk, father of Malloryann, explains.  "So much of our family is in the show, and once we started rehearsing it hit us that we're sort the poster family for the cause."

There are a total of 21 songs in the show, most of which are traditional Christmas tunes.  The selections were made by Burk and Mary Brenner in an effort to create a mix of "traditional carols, religious, and well-known songs."

"When we sat down to decide on the songs, there were some that we knew right away had to be in it," says Burk. "Then there were some others, newer songs that aren't as well known but fit well in the expressed area of tradition."

Scattered between some of the songs is Yuletide-themed narration written by Mary Brenner, which discusses everything from the original Christmas story to modern-day Santa Claus. 

In addition to directing, Burk will also lend his voice to the show, performing such songs as a duet of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." He sings the Bing Crosby part of "Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy" -- along with Paul Spiotta's David Bowie. The musical director and piano accompianist is Kathy White.

Half of this year's show's profit will go toward the St. James Restoration Fund.  

"They've been very good to us in the past, allowing us to perform here, and this is such a beautiful church," Burk explains. "It fits a more traditional type of show."

A large fight has kept scanner traffic busy in Genesee County for at least a half-hour.

Genesee County Dispatch confirms the fight was at Darien Lake and is now dispersed. At least three young males have been detained, one of them a 17-year-old, the other two 18-year-olds.

The fight was reported as moving around the area at Darien Lake and was centered around some cars for a time being. A large concentration of people will have descended on Darien Lake this evening as there is a John Mayer concert scheduled for 8 o'clock.

Batavia High School students Casey Herman, left, and Maryssa Peirick practice the flute for "Musical Interludes for Trey." BHS' holiday concert was held to benefit Trey Filbert, a ninth-grader battling brain cancer.

If you were to ask any members of the BHS community about Trey Filbert, they would all probably tell you the same kind of things. Here are some comments, just to give you an idea:

"There's not a mean bone in his body," Freshman Nick Mungillo said.

"Trey's a dedicated athlete and a very sensitive and caring person," said Buddy Brasky, Trey's basketball coach. "He's a hard worker, is dependable and truly cares about each member of his team."

"His peers regard him as a kind, generous, fun young man," Principal Christopher Dailey said.

"Many of my students know him," Band Director Jane Haggett said. "They all talk about his positive attitude. He smiles a lot, is very happy, and has a gift for taking a serious situation and minimizing it."

Naturally, the BHS community responded as soon as the news arrived that Trey had been diagnosed with brain cancer.

"Multiple people came forward to help his family," Dailey said.

The largest-scale effort to help Trey and his family took place in the auditorium on Monday. The school's holiday concert was dedicated to Trey and helped raise money for his medical bills and treatment. Donations were collected at the doors, and a basket of goods donated by the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation was raffled off.

Pictured Paul Spiotta -- aka "the voice of the Batavia Blue Devils" -- was the concert's master of ceremonies.

Two major catalysts led to this event: a chicken barbeque fundraiser for Trey that took place last month and - less expectedly - the performance of flutist Megan Richardson in the Batavia Rotary Club's production of "Cinderella!" Richardson's music inspired Haggett to consider working with her on an arts-based fundraiser.

Richardson playing Francis Poulenc's "Sonate (1st Movement)" at Monday's concert.

"I heard her play and I thought, 'wow, we should really do a concert for a cause,'" Haggett said. "Then I got the e-mail about the chicken barbeque for Trey, and I knew that this was it."

The night's performances included the following:

BHS junior Maryssa Peirick singing "O Holy Night."

Batavia City School Distric BOE member Patrick D. Burk singing "Home," a song from the musical "The Wiz."

The cast of the Batavia Players' production of "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown," singing "Happiness" (Spiotta said the actors "unanimously agreed" to perform at the concert when they heard it was being done for Trey).

BHS alumnus Valerie Stevens singing "Defying Gravity," from the musical "Wicked."

The "BHS Blue Belles" -- left to right: Sarah DiBacco, Catherine McAllister, Catherine Taylor, Melzie Case and Emily Pahuta -- sang various Christmas carols.

The BHS Jazz Band, conducted by Haggett.

The entire BHS music department was involved in this event, but the spirit of generosity permeating the concert was not limited to them. Trey's classmates - aka the Freshman Class -- recently raised money for him via "Rays for Trey" (see Daily News article at http://tinyurl.com/yfzaamu).

Toward the end of the concert, four ninth-graders presented the final collection of paper suns, each signed by a BHS student, to Trey and his family (who of course had front-row seats) while happily disclosing the amount of money raised.

Haggett, who worked with the Freshman class on the chicken barbeque, applauded the students' hard work on Trey's behalf.

"I personally am very proud of this class and of how they came together for one of their own," she said.

"Any young man who has to go what Trey is going through, deserves [this type of support]," Brasky said. "His family is in need and the BHS family has come through for them."

Principal Dailey agreed.

"Batavia High is a special place where we take care of our own," he said. "I have never worked in such a positive, caring environment."

Before inviting attendees to the cafeteria for refreshments, Haggett identified this demonstration of community spirit as one of the reasonsshe loves Batavia."

"People here really do come together...and they love the arts," the band director said, adding "...Trey, we're all thinking about you, and we hope you got that impression tonight."

The benefit concert raised more than $2,851.

Don't forget! Tomorrow is the premiere of the Batavia Concert Band's summer season at Centennial Park. Showtime is 7:00pm. Bring your own lawn chairs. They'll supply the entertainment (and possibly some light refreshments). For a complete schedule of shows, check out our earlier post.

Here's some more info on the band, supplied by Robert Knipe (who also sent us these photos):

"The Batavia Concert Band’s repertoire is wide-ranging in origin, period and style: Sousa-style marches, Broadway show tunes, classical adaptations, fun songs for kids of all ages, big-band and swing numbers, popular songs from hit musicals and movies, rock favorites arranged for concert band… and everything in between.

"The Band consists of forty to fifty brass, woodwind and percussion players ranging from talented local high school students to 50-year veterans. Many have professional experience, and the rest are advanced amateur musicians. All love to play."

All shows are free!