Ashtabula Arts Center Music Events and News

Other Departments Director's Desk Theatre Department Auditions Calendar Dance Department Music Department Visual Arts Department Happenings & Events Volunteer News Picture Gallery Subscribe to ArtsCenterNews.Com Subscribe to receive periodic updates from the Ashtabula Arts Center Email: Visit this group Classes Workshops Theatre Classes Dance Classes Music Classes Visual Arts Classes Box Office Info Please call 440-964-3396 for more information Board of Trustees OFFICERS: President: Rob Schimmelpfennig Executive Vice President: Judy Robson Vice President: Mike Fedler Vice President: Bill Kline Treasurer: Rich Vanek Secretary: Debbi Waring BOARD MEMBERS: Baerbel Baginski, WSL Steve Candella Neroy Carter Arnie Esterer Adele Herzog Mary Ellen Higley Ken Johnson Mark Jones Randy Jones Gloria Kaull Kim Laurello Ed Looman Chris McClure Tom Picken Scot Sinkler Linda VanBuren Joseph Varckette Ellen Winer Phyllis Duffy-Zala Arts Center Staff Beth Koski Executive Director Cindy Rimpela Business Manager Pamela Hammond Public Relations/Marketing Coordinator Shelagh Dubsky Dance Coordinator Lyn Savarise Music Coordinator Meeghan Humphrey Visual Arts Coordinator Phil Mullet Technical Liason Joe Ford Maintenance Coordinator Marquitta Mollick Evening Desk Coordinator This Dept's Archives 07/2002 08/2002 10/2002 11/2002 12/2002 02/2003 05/2003 06/2003 10/2003 11/2003 12/2003 03/2004 05/2004 07/2004 09/2004 10/2004 01/2005 03/2005 05/2005 06/2005 08/2005 10/2005 11/2005 12/2005 02/2006 05/2006 07/2006 09/2006 11/2006 03/2007 05/2007 06/2007 08/2007 10/2007 11/2007 12/2007 View Stats

2928 West 13th St. Ashtabula, Ohio 44004 phone: 440-964-3396 Search This Site: AAC Welcomes New Guitar Teacher: Posted: Friday, December 13, 2002 After 21 years traveling on the road, playing in duos or bands across the country, Keith Palmer has “retired” to his hometown to teach his experiences to students at the Arts Center. Palmer will offer guitar lessons, charging $15 for a 45 minute lesson. Palmer, a 1973 graduate of Ashtabula High School, has been playing the guitar since the age of 12. He began lessons in classical guitar at age 14, and later graduated with an associate degree in music from Mt. Aloysius Junior College in Cresson, PA, where he was a guitar performance major. When not traveling the country, Palmer previously taught lessons at Simon’s Music Store in Ashtabula, and also Villa Music Store in Denver, CO, where he regularly saw up to 60 students per week. All total, he figures he has been teaching guitar off and on for about 20 years. He is proficient in both classical and electric guitar. Palmer’s teaching philosophy is that he will teach students whatever they want to learn, and will change his teaching style dependent on the student’s learning style. “I try to teach the kids to be students first,” says Palmer. “They have to learn how to practice. Playing can really take off when you know how to practice.” He says that many of the students he sees want to learn how to play their favorite songs they hear on the radio. He will teach students these popular songs as a trade off for doing lessons in a book. “I get them started reading music and learning about their instrument,” he says. “Then I have them find a song they want to learn. We’ll learn that song, then do a lesson in the book. We’ll go from book to songs to music to ear training, and so forth.” Palmer also teaches kids about his experiences in bands, including how to handle sound equipment, how to break into the recording industry, and inside information on record labels. “I want to take my experiences and pass on the good stuff,” he says. “Learning guitar came really hard to me, and I admired a lot of local musicians when I was younger. I see myself in my students. I still feel 16 when I get up and play.” Keith Palmer will begin offering guitar lessons this month. Contact Music Coordinator Lyn Savarise at the Arts Center for more information. Blues Project to Perform at Coffeehouse: Posted: Friday, December 13, 2002 Jazz, blues, and good old rock and roll are on tap at the Arts Center in February, as the Arts Center presents a special coffeehouse performance by the Blues Project. The show will be held on Friday, January 31, at 7:30 p.m. The Blues Project last performed at the Arts Center in January, 2002, to a sellout crowd. Because of the size of last year’s crowd and also the size of the band itself, this winter’s coffeehouse will be held in the theater rather than in the normal location in the gallery. This change will accommodate for more people, and will also improve the sound and location of the band. Born out of a driveway conversation between Tim Dorman, Pete Goebel and Jim Fuller, Blues Project is an all-volunteer band consisting of local professional and semi-professional musicians. Over the past 16 years, more than 40 area musicians have contributed their time and talents to Blues Project. The band currently consists of over 20 musicians, four of which have been members of the band since its beginning. The trademark features of the Blues Project are the large horn section and the blended style of swing/shuffle/blues-type music played by the band. Blues Project plays anything from Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago,” to Louis Jordan’s “Caledonia,” to “Let The Good Times Roll” from the Depression Years. Their set list features “golden oldies” and signature tunes, as well as newer songs. Band members claim that because the songs change with every performance, “no two shows are ever the same!” Another trademark of Blues Project is that all members volunteer their time and talents to the band. All money paid to or raised by the band is donated to a local charitable organization, a list of which has over the years included Homesafe, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, and, since 1995, Hospice of Ashtabula County. To date the group has raised over $20,000 for these combined organizations. Tickets for the Blues Project are $8 general admission and $7 students, and can be reserved by calling the Arts Center.