Event Calendar
Come see us this season and look whose been here over the past seasons.
Jump Castle Riot, a modern blues/rock band from Charleston, SC, consists of Nina
Murchison (vocals), Jay Van Raalte (guitar/vocals), Bradley Palles (drums) and Derk
Van Raalte (bass). JCR has been praised for its effortless chemistry and explosive
sound, which has been described as “if Ella Fitzgerald fronted a band made up of The
Killers and The White Stripes.” The group shares a special connection with the area as
the mother and wife of two members of this exciting band, Lisa Shilepsky Van
Raalte, grew up in Aurora and is happy to introduce them to family and friends.
https://www.jumpcastleriot.com/
Singer songwriters Molly Ruggles and Will McMillan from the Boston area will perform old favorites from Oscar Hammerstein, as well as a few original songs chosen with a Finger Lakes audience in mind.
Will has performed at venues such as Scullers Jazz Club, the Hi-Hat Club (RI), the Inn on Newfound Lake (NH), Westbeth Performance Center (NYC), Spring Island (SC), and Yin Par LeGarcon Chinois (Shanghai). For years McMillan hosted “Will & Company,” a series in Harvard Square highlighting local performers and songwriters, which earned him an IRNE Award for Best Cabaret Show in a Small Venue. He has released four CDs—”Sketchbook 1″ and “Blame Those Gershwins” with pianist Steve Sweeting, “Reel One” with the vocal ensemble At The Movies, and “If I Loved You,” with singer Bobbi Carrey and pianist Doug Hammer. You are welcome to visit his blog, AMusicalifeOnPlanetEarth.WordPress.com or his web site, WillSings.com. You can also watch him perform on YouTube by searching “Will McMillan.”
Molly Ruggles played piano and conducted pit bands for Opryland USA in Nashville, the College Light Opera Company on Cape Cod, and Brown University. She led a house band at the Arboretum in Providence for five years. She also played with the band Bougainvillea, and worked with singers Henrietta Robinson, Lisa Thorson, and Sayida Rivers Farmer. She taught a songwriting seminar at MIT for seven years and recently produced a workshop performance of her original musical The Mis-Matched Pair. You are welcome to visit her web site at MollyRuggles.com.
Individuals are sometimes willing to risk everything for a cause in which they believe. But how far is one willing to go to risk the lives of friends and family? We Will Not Be Silent explores this dilemma as it presents the intense confrontation between 21-year-old Sophie Scholl, a university student activist who led the only major act of civil resistance to the Nazi during WW II, and Kurt Grunwald, her interrogator. Both wield strength; one wields power. Based on the true events which occurred in Munich, Germany in 1943.
The cast includes Jim Byrne as Kurt Grunwald, Mallory Cleere as Sophie Scholl, and Luke Lauchle as Hans Scholl. Patti Goebel is the set and lighting designer. Production assistant is Liz Sherman.
We Will Not Be Silent is the 13th original play to be performed at the Morgan Opera House as a winner of the Gloria Ann Barnell Peter Playwright Competition. Written by David Meyers and directed by Siouxsie Easter, Professor of Theatre at Wells College.
David Meyers is an actor and playwright based in Los Angeles and New York. As a writer, his plays have been produced and read off-Broadway, and at regional theaters across the country. He has been published by Applause, Smith and Kraus, and more. As an actor, he has appeared on TV, film, and national commercials. www.DavidActs.com @DaveActs
Individuals are sometimes willing to risk everything for a cause in which they believe. But how far is one willing to go to risk the lives of friends and family? We Will Not Be Silent explores this dilemma as it presents the intense confrontation between 21-year-old Sophie Scholl, a university student activist who led the only major act of civil resistance to the Nazi during WW II, and Kurt Grunwald, her interrogator. Both wield strength; one wields power. Based on the true events which occurred in Munich, Germany in 1943.
The cast includes Jim Byrne as Kurt Grunwald, Mallory Cleere as Sophie Scholl, and Luke Lauchle as Hans Scholl. Patti Goebel is the set and lighting designer. Production assistant is Liz Sherman.
We Will Not Be Silent is the 13th original play to be performed at the Morgan Opera House as a winner of the Gloria Ann Barnell Peter Playwright Competition. Written by David Meyers and directed by Siouxsie Easter, Professor of Theatre at Wells College.
David Meyers is an actor and playwright based in Los Angeles and New York. As a writer, his plays have been produced and read off-Broadway, and at regional theaters across the country. He has been published by Applause, Smith and Kraus, and more. As an actor, he has appeared on TV, film, and national commercials. www.DavidActs.com @DaveActs
Born and raised in Poplar Ridge, NY, Dave McKeon and his band Moonshine Falls return to the Morgan Opera House on Saturday, September 14 at 8PM. Moonshine Falls bridges the gap between Traditional Bluegrass and the “New Blue” movement playing bluegrass standards and writing their own songs that blend seamlessly with that canon.
Co-sponsored by the Aurora Free Library.
https://moonshinefallsbluegrass.com/
J.G. Hertzler returns to the MOH stage as Mark Twain revealing the secrets of a long life with music, jobs programs and shipbuilding with music, tales of Barbers and livestock, medical advice on castor oil, cigars and good scotch with music, ” Life on the Mississippi” in 1870…followed by “After Life on the Potomac” in 2020..with music by the “Oldfangled Troubadors, Uncle Joe Chicone and Fiddlin’ Rene Baum”. Mark Twain using an I-Phone ??? Yes, because this Twain will comment as himself, as Sam Clemens, and as JG Hertzler. From 1835-to 2020, the two Twains shall meet at the Morgan Opera House. Sponsored in part by a Finger Lakes Community Arts Grant and Lisa Marsh Ryerson.
This lively and enthusiastic band has provided evenings of European folk, American Pop and all genres in between for many years as a benefit for the Opera House. Clarinet, sax, percussion, accordion, piano, voice and more share the music making with both gusto and sweetness. If you haven’t experienced Klezmer before, now is the time. Thanks go to Dana Mandel and Lifespan Physical Therapies for their support.
Finger Lakes Chamber Ensemble performs the seventh of what has become an annual Sunday afternoon, early fall concert. The group always presents a singular, piano-free program for the Opera House. This year’s features two extended Classical period quintets, the Kuhlau Quintet for Fute and Strings in D Major, Op. 51, No. 1, and the Mozart Quintet in C Major, KV 515. The group consists of Janet Sung, violin; Roberta Crawford, viola; and Stefan Reuss, cello, with guests Jessica Tong, violin; David Rose, viola; and Barry Crawford, flute. Sponsored in part by a Finger Lakes Community Arts Grant. https://
Bones East, a group exceptionally talented trombonists, will present an exciting program at the historic Morgan Opera House Sunday, November 17 at 1 PM. Lead by William Harris, former principal trombonist with the Syracuse Symphony and retired music professor at Syracuse University, Christmas tunes plus classical and jazz numbers are on the program. The group plays familiar tunes arranged in four-part harmony by Tom Camp for maximum resonance. The performers include a range of musicians —mostly semi-professionals, retirees and students from all over Central New York—who volunteer their time and talent. The donations will benefit the Mor
gan Opera House programing. Contact trcampoo1@gmail.com for more information about Bones East.
POSTPONED in response to the need for social distancing due to Covid-19
The Probables are a “rhythm-driven, folkcana/roots rock band” that has sought to perform in all the opera houses in Western New York (along with other venues). Many music lovers in the region became familiar with founder Steve Johnson as the lead singer and main songwriter for the popular jam band Big Leg Emma, which performed at the Grassroots Festival and opened for Donna the Buffalo. After Big Leg Emma went on hiatus in 2015, Johnson picked up the pieces and created The Probables in March 2016. When writing material for the band, he stayed true to his rock, folk and bluegrass influences. The addition of Adam McKillip – an already accomplished singer and multi-instrumentalist from Erie, PA – has added an extra boost to the band’s sound and power. The lineup changes came at the perfect time, as the band has already spent time in the studio recording new songs for a future release to complement the 2 albums they have already put out, Cumberland Line and this time around. Videos of their performances can be found on YouTube.
The Probables:
Steve Johnson – Lead Singer/Acoustic Guitar
Matt Gronquist – Accordion/Fiddle/Vocals
Adam McKillip – Mandolin/Vocals
Ryan Ecklund -Bass
Nick Campbell – Drums