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HomeNewsArchivesArts Alive! Concert Series Presents Corky Siegel and the Chamber Blues

Arts Alive! Concert Series Presents Corky Siegel and the Chamber Blues

Jan. 18, 2005 – So you want to go out on a lovely Caribbean evening, sit down somewhere civilized, and relax as your ears and soul are massaged by the playing of live music.
You don't want to hear something that reminds you of Jimmy Buffett, or Carnival, or a band you've already heard a thousand times. You yearn for something new, something with spark, something you've never heard before, but you are convinced you'll never find it on little old St. Thomas. Think again.
The Arts Alive! Concerts in the Garden series brings Corky Siegel and his Chamber Blues to Tillett Gardens at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26. And for those interested in a full evening, a prix fixe dinner will be available before hand.
This will be a repeat performance in the Virgin Islands for singer-songwriter, pianist and blues harmonica master, Siegel, and his band of violins, viola, cello, and hand percussion.
Classical and blues music may sound like an odd pairing, but audiences everywhere love it. And if you have any doubts about whether or not you're going to dig it, you can visit Siegel's Web site and listen to a few clips for yourself.
In mid-1960s Chicago, Corky's group was the house band at Pepper's Show Lounge, where blues legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Hound Dog Taylor, and many other greats went to work out.
Then, in 1966, a young Seiji Ozawa, even then among the top 10 conductors in the world, asked Corky to jam with his band – the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Ozawa, it turns out, thought blues was just the spark classical music needed.
Corky and blues guitarist Jim Schwall went on to recorded William Russo's landmark work, "Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra," with Ozawa conducting the San Francisco Symphony in 1971.
Corky has composed numerous symphonic blues works and holds the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest-Meet the Composer National Award for Chamber Music Composition and the Illinois Arts Council Fellowship Award for Music Composition.
Tickets for Arts Alive concerts cost $30 in advance at Tillett Gallery, and $35 on performance nights. Dinner will be $30 per person extra, not including drinks and gratuity.
And to make the evening complete, resident artists at Tillett's will be open before hand and during intermission, including Tillett Gallery, Ridvan Studio, Alison's Wonderland, Caribbean Herbals, Hand Paint'd Co. and Kazooti Clay Studio, home of the original Virgin Islands moisture resistant salt shaker.
Major sponsors for Arts Alive! include the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, Helen Kelbert, Jerry and Jaci Silverberg, Rajiv and Alisa Desai; Dudley, Topper and Feuerzeig LLP, The Peter Gruber Foundation, Globalvest Management Company and Paradise Radio 93.5FM.
Concerts in the Garden will continue it’s concert series on Feb. 9 with classical violinist Bella Hristova.For information and reservations, call Tillett Gardens at 775-1929.

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