Musical Prodigy Rudolf Budginas debuted with the Lithuanian National Symphony at age nine, trained at Moscow Conservatory, and promptly rose to international fame performing solo concerts. After moving to the U.S. in 1994, he discovered his true passion: giving classical music a broader audience appeal.

In his ingenious show “You, Me & the Piano,” Budginas illustrated how classical music has influenced contemporary artists by actually breaking down how Billy Joel might have drawn on Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody” to get “Piano Man.” Famous for audience and humorous asides, Rudolf Budginas takes the audience from “Claire de Lune” to “Rhapsody in Blue” with contagious energy and endless surprises!

http://www.rudolfpiano.com/

A very satisfying concert. They not only play their instruments very well but they sing!  Their selections were incredibly varied and entertaining.  I guess that old is new again since a lot of their numbers were very familiar to our audience but they made them fresh.

At age five, Richard Smith watched his father fingerpick “Down South Blues” on guitar. By day’s end, he had learned the song. At age of eleven, he played on stage with his hero, Chet Atkins. By age 20, Atkins and legend Jerry Reed were both calling Smith their hero!

Cellist Julie Adams is also a rarity. Classically trained at Cincinnati Conservatory, she took folk music by storm, bedazzled Smith, and the rest is history -- together, husband-and-wife team Smith and Adams’ musical connection will melt your heart -- and their stellar technique will knock your socks off!

Some call it the Nat “King” Cole Trio meets the Mills Brothers… others call it Fats Waller meets Fats Domino. However described, Casey MacGill’s Blue 4 Trio sweeps the audience back through time. Boogie-woogie pianist MacGill leads bassist Matt Weiner and percussionist Mike Daugherty through soulful renditions of pre-World War II swing classics, complete with impeccable three-part vocal harmonies (and even a little ukulele).

The members of the trio have been featured in Broadway’s smash musical Swing, the Edinburgh Jazz Festival and legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London. Soft or loud, raw or mellow, Casey MacGill’s Blues 4 Trio plays it all, and keeps it 100% real.

With an all new program, Trio Voronezh once again thrilled our audience with their astonishing virtuosity and delightful artistic innovation. They seemed more at ease and able to have more fun compared to their previous appearance in 2003, perhaps due to more exposure to American audiences. Discovered playing Bach in a Frankfurt, Germany subway station, Trio Voronezh has since made several tours of the U.S., and earned audience and critical praise. Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times beautifully sums up a performance: “The traditional pieces soon brought the crowd to life, clapping enthusiastically as the rhythms accelerated and Volokhin's fingers flew across his domra. Petrukhin, his body moving in sync with his deep bass notes, and Teleshev, magisterially pulling everything together within the lush sounds of his bajan, completed the picture -- three players, alone on a large open stage, filling every crevice with their rich, imaginatively conceived music."

Website: click here

The Hunt Family Fiddlers performance here in Medford was delightful.  It featured several new songs written by the group as well as lively versions of old standbys.  One song in particular, Green Eyes, is a potential pop hit and deserves a wider hearing. They are an award-winning family of Irish step dancers, fiddlers and singers that marvel audiences around the world! They perform Celtic, bluegrass, inspirational and popular tunes, serving up a unique blend with every show. They have released four albums, and were honored to perform for Queen Elizabeth during her 2007 visit to the United States.

With numerous performances in the UK, three consecutive years opening for the Virginia Symphony, and “held-over” status for three seasons at Busch Gardens Europe under their belt, the Hunt Family Fiddlers amazed us with their high-class performance and captured our hearts with their charm!

http://www.huntfamilyfiddlers.com/

Program

Frederic Chopin     Revolutionary Etude

Ludwig van Beethoven    Sonata No 17, mvt. III

Johan S. Bach    Prelude in C Major

Ludwig van Beethoven   Symphony No. 5 (arr. by Rudolf Budginas)

Ludwig van Beethoven    Moonlight Sonata

Franz Liszt     Hungarian Rhapsody

Frederic Chopin    Prelude (arr. by Rudolf Budginas)

Scott Joplin      Solace

Franz Schubert    Serenade  (arr. by Rudolf Budginas)

Jacques Bizet    Carmen (arr. by Rudolf Budginas)

George Gershwin    Rhapsody in Blue

Program selections from the following:

Beatles Medley, The Watkins Man, You Do Something to Me, If I Fell

Jerry Reed Medley, If I Had You, Mr. Bojangles, Windy and Warm, Saturday Night Shuffle, Requiem for a Marionette, A Simple Melody, The Gentle Maiden, Cascade, Copper Kettle, Solace, The Phantom of the Opry, Semper Fidelis, Texas Fat Cats, Blue Angel, Spanish Eyes, St. Anne’s Reel, Blackberry Blossom, Cavatina, Over the Rainbow, Stardust, Cheek to Cheek, Great Blue Herron, Mouret’s Rondeau, Sweet Georgia Brown

The Blue 4 Trio is constantly adding new material to the delight of their many fans.  A typical concert is sure to include these hits from their two CDs...and much, much more !  Onstage antics at no extra charge.

- Jeepers Creepers, - The Hatchet Man (Chop-Chop!), - Stardust, - Three Cool Cats

- I Found A Million Dollar Baby, - Lulu's Back In Town, - Love Is Just Around the Corner

- Chicken Dinner, - No Moon At All, - The Spell of the Blues, - Them There Eyes

- (I Ain't Lazy) I'm Just Dreamin', - Palm Springs Jump

PROGRAM

Concerto in D-minor      A. Vivaldi - J. S. Bach      (1678-1741)/(1685-1750)

‘Trepak’ and ‘Russian Dance’ from The Nutcracker    P. I. Tchaikovsky        (1840-1893)

Polka from the Ballet ‘Bolt’     D. Shostakovich       (1906-1975)

Undertango, Oblivion, Michelangelo ‘70   A. Piazzolla        (1921-1992)

‘Polka Pizzicato’     J. Strauss        (1825-1899)

‘Sabre Dance’      A. Khachaturian       (1903-1978)

‘New York Tango’     R. Galliano        (b. 1950)

‘Jewish Dance’     Andrei Bizov        (b. 1953)

‘Tchastushka’      A. Zigankov        (b. 1948)

‘Russian Waltz’     Yuri Romanov        (b. 1947)

‘Otrada’      V. Chernikov        (1947-1994)

‘Two Step’      A. Zigankov

Argentinean Dance     Traditional

‘Gypsy Dance’     A. Zigankov

‘Fiddle Faddle’     L. Anderson        (1908-1975)

‘Bésame Mucho’     C. Velázquez        (b. 1924)

‘Piece in Bluegrass Style’    Daniil Kramer        (b. 1960)

Program

Catharsis -- Celtic reel

Old Joe Clark --Bluegrass fiddling and step dancing

Friend -- Original song by Jenni Hunt

Crazy Fingers -- Original song by Jonathan Hunt

Dance of Love -- Celtic tune, highlighting the hornpipe dance

Apple Tree -- Original song by Jessi Hunt

Hearts Held High -- Original by Jenni and Jonathan Hunt

The Old Copperplate Medley -- Celtic reels and step dancing

Bluegrass Fiddling Medley

The Story 

Black Horse and Cherry Tree

Dreams -- Original by Jessi Hunt

Thunderstorm -- Celtic step dancing

One More Christmas -- Original by Jenni Hunt

Devil Went Down to Georgia