The lush gardens of an urban paradise make an idyllic setting for the Palmer Woods Music in Homes concerts on Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23 at 8 pm. Detroit's Historic Palmer Woods opens the gates to one of the finest gardens in our neighborhood for the grand finale weekend of the series, featuring two very diverse jazzy evening celebrations.
On Friday, June 22, the musical bouquet is infused with a mixture of jazz and classical influences, as well as Argentine tango and Spanish works, performed by the Spencer Barefield Super String Quartet. On Saturday, the Ralphe Armstrong Quartet will journey through the jazz world with a funk-fusion-R&B edge....
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The lush gardens of an urban paradise make an idyllic setting for the Palmer Woods Music in Homes concerts on Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23 at 8 pm. Detroit's Historic Palmer Woods opens the gates to one of the finest gardens in our neighborhood for the grand finale weekend of the series, featuring two very diverse jazzy evening celebrations.
On Friday, June 22, the musical bouquet is infused with a mixture of jazz and classical influences, as well as Argentine tango and Spanish works, performed by the Spencer Barefield Super String Quartet. On Saturday, the Ralphe Armstrong Quartet will journey through the jazz world with a funk-fusion-R&B edge.
The Spencer Barefield Super String Quartet is adventurous ensemble featuring world-renowned guitarist A. Spencer Barefield, violinist Jannina Barefield Norpoth, violist John Madison and bassist John-Paul Norpoth.
The ensemble straddles the boundaries of traditional, avant garde and modern jazz, classical, world music and other music idioms, performing challenging works composed by 2010 Kresge Arts Fellow Barefield, as well as selections from legendary jazz composers such as John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Thelonius Monk, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn. Add some spicy classical works of Spanish composers Enrique Granados and Manuel de Falla, and Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla for out-of-this-world music — performed by four virtuosic, super string players.
Jannina (Spencer's daughter) has soloed with the Detroit Symphony, and has been a featured performer alongside Itzhak Perlman, Emmanuelle Boisvert, Regina Carter, Marcus Belgrave, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Jannina's husband John-Paul has performed under the batons of Itzhak Perlman, Kurt Mazur, Bright Sheng, Jamie Laredo, Otto Werner Mueller and others in numerous New York-area orchestras. John is the principal violist for the Michigan Opera Theatre and regular Detroit Symphony sub. He is dean of the Sphinx Preparatory Academy in Detroit, and among the Detroit area's most esteemed performers and educators.
The Palmer Woods Music in Homes series presents outstanding live music set in the magnificent homes of one of the City of Detroit’s most beautiful and historic neighborhoods. The 2011-2012 season has featured eight concert performances, held in seven stately homes.
Tickets, $35 or $30 each for groups of 10 or more, are sold in advance only and can be purchased online at palmerwoods.org or by calling 313-891-2514. The location of the home is provided to ticket holders. The concerts are special opportunities to hear world-class musicians who have Detroit-area roots. Included is a reception with delicious food, beverages and desserts (often related to the musical style). The June concert will be held under the sunshine and stars beneath a large tent in the magnificent garden behind a meticulously restored 4,700 sq. ft. Italian Renaissance mansion. The main floor of the home will be open for a guided view during part of the evening.
For the past five years, Palmer Woods residents and Creative Arts Collective spearheads Barbara and Spencer Barefield have asked their neighbors to welcome 100-200 guests (some would say strangers!) into their homes to support the arts and help to raise money to benefit their historic neighborhood.
The response has been extraordinary. "We have produced about 45 concerts with the Palmer Woods Association, and they all sell out, sometimes as far as a month in advance," guitarist/composer Spencer Barefield explains. "Musicians — incredible Detroit-based artists with international acclaim — are thrilled to perform. There have even been a number of concert guests who were so impressed with the neighborhood that they decided to buy a home and move here."
Some homeowners have so much fun that they have signed on year after to year as hosts. There is a neighborhood team that assists with concert receptions, preparing culinary feasts to match the music. Guests — who travel from far and wide — are loyal supporters. The Barefields, in collaboration with the neighborhood, have fine-tuned a unique way to support the arts, improve the image and quality of life in Detroit and their historic neighborhood, and preserve its architectural treasures and history.
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