A COTA Christmas at The Sherman

The Sherman Theatre* in Stroudsburg, PA and The Celebration of the Arts (COTA)* of Delaware Water Gap, PA co-hosted “The COTA* Christmas Benefit Show” on Monday December 29th. Proceeds from the event benefited The Sherman Theatre* Capital 30 Campaign whose funds will be utilized to continue its restoration and architectural revitalization work and to The COTA* Hurricane Hannah Rain-our Recovery Fund created to recoup the financial losses incurred by the storm’s effects on its 31st Annual Jazz and Arts Festival during the second day of its three day event held September 2008. The evening held a wonderful opportunity for fans of the Annual event to enhance their memories of the Festival while creating new ones as they continued to celebrate the holiday season in the historic surroundings of The Sherman Theatre*.

The evening began with a pre-show VIP Reception for those who were able to partake of the Benefactor’s Package in The Sherman Theatre’s Lobby. The VIP Reception featured the music of “The Lobby Elves” which consisted of Mark Hamza* on Accordion, Jay Rattman* www.myspace.com/jayrattman on Clarinet, Bobby Avery on Piano, Evan Gregor* on Base, and Matt Vashlishin on Alto Sax. Numerous vendors often seen at The Annual festival were on hand to offer their wares to those who attended. Among them were Mudworks and Friends* www.mudworkspotterypa.com, Wisp of Willows (??), Artist Tim Helman*, Get Lit Stained Glass getlitstainedglass@comcast.net, and Fabric Artist Liz Pemberton*. A delicious spread of food was provided by Lauren Elizabeth Catering which satisfied the taste buds of all who enjoyed the special appetizer to the main show.

The COTA* Christmas Show began with a performance by the much beloved Nellie McKay* whose talents mesmerized and enchanted all who experienced her musical talents. While she performed with her Ukulele and Puppet, she was joined by Nelson Hill* on Alto Sax, COTA* Co-Founder Rich Chamberlain* on Trombone, Spencer Reed* on Guitar, Bill Goodwin* on Drums, and Jim Daniels* on Tuba. The magical tone of the evening was set which even led to some delightful sightings of a Christmas Spirit resembling Ms. McKay during the intermission.

The evening continued with Eric Doney* and The Pacific Street Swinging Jingle Singers featuring the voices of Bobby Avery, Chris Connors*, Bret Cartwright, Vicki Doney* myspace.com/cotafestival, Ann Yale, Alex Staneski*, Gabrielle Posa, Marilou Tshudy, Kim Best, Dave Dion, Bob Hartman, Bill Stine, Rick Bullock, and Len Mooney*. The selections consisted of some holiday favorites along with some original works composed for the occasion. These wonderful voices where joined by COTA* Co-Founder and The 2008 PA Governor’s Awards for excellence in the arts Phil Woods* on Alto Sax.

After the delight of The Pacific Street Swinging Jingle Singers concluded, Spencer Reed* presented a special Jingle Jam featuring the best of the best among the Jazz musicians who have performed in The COTA* Jazz and Arts Festivals throughout the year. The set was presented as a small ensemble of musicians who were constantly replaced by their peers. This resulted in a variety of styles reflecting the talents each performer brought to their instrument. The Jingle Jam consisted of Barbara McMahon and Gina Bertucci taking their turns on Flute, Phil Woods* and Nelson Hill* taking their turns on Alto Sax, Dave Leibman* on Tenor Sax, Patrick Dorian on Trumpet, Rick Chamberlain* and Jim Daniels* taking their turns on Trombone, Mark Williams* www.myspace.com/markwilliamsmusic on Electric Guitar, Paul Rostock* www.myspace.com/paulrostockbass and Jennifer Leitham* www.jenniferleitham.com taking their turns on Bass, Bill Goodwin* and Sherrie Maricle taking their turns on Drums, David Lantz* and Bob Dorough* taking their turns on Piano, and Nancy Reed* and Bob Dorough* who lent their distinguished voices to the performance.

The evening concluded with a performance by COTA* Cats Alums Big Band as led by Tom Fadden, Jim Daniels, and Pat Dorian. The band featured former COTA* Cats who participated in the special Jazz Music Scholarship Program COTA* has developed throughout the years. This annual program seeks out music students of the area school districts who demonstrate considerable talents who are then tutored by an established Jazz artist in order to temper their skills so the fullness of their love for the musical form can be fully realized. The manifestations of these realizations are demonstrated every year during the Annual festivals by a Special Performance which never fails to delight the audience. College Scholarships are awarded every year to those COTA* Cats who show exceptional promise and many were among the special Alum that night.

The years of training during their years of studying and practice enhanced their original performances at the annual festival which were of a high quality to begin with. The Alum COTA* Cats Big Band consisted of Matt Vatican (COTA* Class of 2001), Wayne Bishop (COTA* Class of 2005), Jay Rattman* (COTA* Class of 2006), Lance Rauh (COTA* Class of 1995), and Tim Reiche on Saxophones, Venessa Meggiorlaro (COTA* Class of 2003), Dan Coyle (COTA* Class of 1997), Kenny Luckey (COTA* Class of 2005), Marcel Bellinger (COTA* Class of 2006), and Jonathan Heim (COTA* Class of 2007) on Trumpets, Najwa Parkins (COTA* Class of 2004), Joe Lynch (COTA* Class of 2002), Brendan Vavra (COTA* Class of 2004), Kathryn Vallilee (COTA* Class of 2008), and Tom Lehman* (COTA* Class of 2006) on Trombones, Bobby Avery (COTA* Class of 2003) on Piano, Evan Gregor* (COTA* Class of 2000) on Bass, and Chuck Cooper* (COTA* Class of 1995) along with Shane Velsor on Drums. Special Arrangements of compositions were written by Phil Woods* and Bob Dorough*. Phil Woods* and Bob Dorough* joined the Orchestra in the performance of Bob Dorough’s composition entitled, “Blue Christmas.” Vicki Doney* also joined the orchestra lending her voice to some wonderful holiday tunes which led to the conclusion of the evening’s event which many in the sizable audience hopes will be an annual one.

“The COTA Christmas Benefit Show” was coordinated by Richard Chamberlain* as assisted by Lauren Chamberlain*, Kent Heckman and Glen Kern worked the sound system while Garth Woods* served as the official COTA* Photographer. Terrence Gaughan designed the poster while Patricia Gaughan provided publicity and editorial assistance. Tim Helman coordinated the Artisans.

There were a great number of people who experienced the event and attempting to name all of Our Good Friends who attended would lead to forgetting a few in the process. Therefore, I ask those of you who would like to share your recollections of the evening to do so. I welcome your comments and I’m sure many who read them would appreciate them as well. The next shows at The Sherman Theatre* will be The Bands for Bren Benefit Concert on Friday January 9th at 6pm and Winterfest on Saturday January 31st from 11am until 11pm. Please Explore The Sherman Theatre* Website for more information. This year’s Celebration of the Arts (COTA)* Jazz and Arts Festival will take place September 11th - 13th in Delaware Water Gap, PA. There is a great need for volunteers in many areas. Please Explore The COTA* Website at www.cotajazz.org for more information. You’ll find numerous photographs at The Forwardian Arts Society A COTA Christmas at The Sherman Gallery at myspace.com/forwardian_arts.

(*) denotes members of The Forwardian Arts Society in good standing and are considered Our Good Friends.