Fryeburg Academy Music Community,
We are writing to you with exciting news. For the last several months we have been communicating with Grammy Award-winning jazz musician Laurence Hobgood. We are pleased to announce that he has agreed to come to Fryeburg this November and spend two and a half days in residency with our student musicians. His residency will culminate with a capstone performance for the community on Friday, November 14th, featuring Mr. Hobgood's trio as well as many of Fryeburg Academy's student musicians.
Laurence Hobgood is an accomplished pianist, arranger and composer. He has been described by Dave Brubeck as "one of the most incredible pianists I have ever heard." Mr. Hobgood has released many albums under his own name, and written vocal arrangements for Jackie Allen, Chanticleer, Alicia Miles, Regina Carter, Gregory Generet and Eden Atwood, amongst others. For the last twenty years, however, most of his professional work has been devoted to arranging for, and accompanying Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Kurt Elling.
During the residency Mr. Hobgood will teach a series of Master Classes. Additionally, he will provide instruction and feedback to both our instrumentalists and vocalists on an individual, small group and ensemble basis. The students will also have the opportunity to work on some of Laurence Hobgood's original compositions, providing a unique opportunity to interact with, and ask questions of the composer.
During the residency we will engage over one hundred Fryeburg Academy student musicians. We are also in the process of contacting high school and college music directors throughout Northern New England, inviting them to bring their student musicians to the capstone performance. Together with local members of the community we plan to fill the Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center!
In order to make this experience accessible to as many members of our community as possible, we are offering tickets to the performance at a highly subsidized price of $22 ($18 for seniors and $10 for students). We encourage everyone interested in attending to purchase their tickets as soon as possible. The subsidized pricing has largely been made available through generous donations from local sponsors (Green Thumb Farms, Hunting Dearborn, North Conway Music Center and Norway Savings Bank). For those interested in providing additional support for this project we are offering Benefactor tickets for $50. These tickets provide the holders the same great seating at the LHE/PAC that you have come to expect, access to a pre-show hors d'oeuvres reception where you will have the opportunity to briefly meet Mr. Hobgood, and for every two Benefactor tickets you purchase, you will receive one of his signed CDs.
The jazz residency is going to be a seminal learning experience for the students, and the concert will be one of the premiere cultural performances this fall, in the state of Maine. We greatly appreciate your support, and look forward to seeing you there.
Michael Sakash Mimi Rohlfing Fryeburg Academy Music Director Fryeburg Academy Vocal Instructor (207) 935-7696 (207) 935-7696 [email protected] [email protected]