Ebony & Ivory visited famed Woodstock, Illinois (site of the filming of the Bill Murray movie, "Groundhog Day") to present a concert for the Woodstock Fine Arts Association on Saturday, January 26th. The concert took place in the historic Woodstock Opera House, where Orson Welles and Paul Newman, among many others, once played. Built in 1890 to house City Hall, the public library, the fire department, and an auditorium, the Opera House was completely restored in 1977. It is a lovely building replete with stained glass windows and intricate architectural detail. The concert hall itself has a curved balcony in the "riverboat" style, and acoustics that make every seat in the house a good one.

The audience enthusiastically received the performers and the interaction between Andrew and David and their eager listeners created a relaxed atmosphere for musical enjoyment. The concert proceeded from the opening Celtic-inspired Feast, through a selection of some of the most beautiful music written for clarinet and piano, the first half ending with Andrew's stunning arrangement of America from West Side Story. Along the way the audience was treated to David's mellow saxophone and even a rumba!

When Ebony & Ivory opened the second half of the concert with the song Minority, featuring David on clarinet, Andrew on his bright red Roland AX-1, and the Korg keyboard playing itself, the audience response rose appreciably. With a set of Scott Joplin rags on the piano, a tribute to Benny Goodman, and the infectious Latin rhythms of Tico-Tico, the end of the concert brought the audience to their feet in tribute to the brilliant performances and engaging, enjoyable music. A reception was held after the concert and the artists were pleased to meet and talk with many of the audience members.

Special thanks must go to Ellen Krech and Mary Sircar, co-chairpersons of the Performing Arts Committee of the Woodstock Fine Arts Association and their committee members, Darlene Fiske, Val Gitlin, Carol Halma and Virginia Peschke for so successfully attending to the many details associated with the concert. In addition, the staff of the Woodstock Opera House, especially Scott Creighton, were helpful and friendly. Ebony & Ivory were pleased that Mary Redmon and Paul Gleason from Arch-Opera in Sandwich, IL were able to attend the concert and take back a glowing report to their program committee. All in all, the Ebony & Ivory experience in Woodstock was completely satisfying for all involved and, just like in the movie, could be repeated over and over and over again.

Ebony & Ivory will be in concert in Hackettstown, NJ at the Centenary College Performing Arts Guild in February. Carl Wallnau, who has made all arrangements for the concert, is a fan of Andrew's and has followed his career with interest since receiving a copy of Andrew's first CD, And All That Jazz. When Carl was contacted regarding the possibility of an Ebony & Ivory concert at Centenary College, he responded immediately and booked the Duo. The concert will take place on Saturday, February 16th at 8:00 p.m.

After their very successful appearance at the combined Southern Arts Exchange/NEPAC conference in Louisville, KY last fall, Ebony & Ivory have accelerated their marketing thrust to include the southern states that are members of SAE. Many arts presenters who attended the Ebony & Ivory Showcase and/or visited the Ebony & Ivory Booth were from states outside the current marketing area of the Duo. Previously, promotional mailings and newsletters covered a geographical area including Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Ontario. This area will now be expanded to cover Alabama, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

It's February: Spring hasn't sprung, the grass isn't "riz", but presenters are wondering where the Ebony & Ivory Spring Mailing is! Coming soon, to a mailbox near you!