KINGFIELD – Western Maine’s premier summer cultural event, the Kingfield POPS, will take place on Saturday, June 26, in Kingfield. It features the Bangor Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and guest soloist Suzanne Nance along with some of the bright stars of Maine’s traditional and contemporary music scene in a program that celebrates the outdoors and Maine’s musical heritage.
Against the backdrop of a full moon and mountains, the BSO and Nance, an award-winning singer as well as MPBN’s music director and weekday morning host, will perform a program of pops, patriotic, and light classical tunes. The BSO, which has performed at the Kingfield POPS for five out of its eight years, has consistently provided dynamic, exciting programs that draw audiences back year after year. Joining them for several numbers will be Gene Nichols, whose humor and virtuosity on his very unusual instrument — the musical saw — is expected to surprise and intrigue audiences.
To open the show, Lewiston-Auburn’s Greg Boardman, and sons Aidan, Ethan and Isaac, will join forces with Belgrade’s Gawler Family (John and Ellen, and daughters Edith, Molly and Elsie) to present the best of Maine’s traditional and contemporary acoustic music. Well known to fans of the Maine music scene, they marry old and new musical conventions to create rich, textured harmonies with vocals, fiddles, guitars, cellos, banjo, bass, ukulele, keyboard and percussion. Molly Gawler, a dancer with the international dance troupe Pilobolus — currently selling out concerts all over the world — will be presenting an original dance. Also on the opening slate are the Pineland Fiddlers, a touring ensemble of young fiddlers, age six to 16, who perform widely in Maine and have toured in Quebec City, Cape Breton, Turkmenistan and Ireland. Their lively repertoire draws on Maine’s Celtic, Quebecois and Down East traditions. The Western Mountain Trash Can Band’s steel drum ensemble welcomes guests to the site and sets the tone for a festive evening.
One of the highlights of the 2010 concert is sure to be the arrangement of pair of Irish tunes that Greg Boardman, a well known Maine fiddler, composer and teacher, has created for the Gawler Family, Boardman Family and Pineland Fiddlers to play together with the BSO. In the same vein, Damon Honeycutt, dancer and composer, is contributing an orchestral arrangement for a tune composed by the American composer Leadbelly, also to be played by opening performers and orchestra.
“This is a unique and original collaboration,” said David Whitehill, executive director of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. “The BSO is pleased to be able to foster and welcome this kind of collaboration among artists and musicians from varying musical traditions. It’s an innovative and exciting step to be taking and we are looking forward to it with great anticipation.”
The evening ends with a grand fireworks finale.
Earlier in the day, at the POPS Festival of the Arts in the village of Kingfield from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., artists and artisans display and sell their creations, which include metal work, woven baskets, wooden bowls, photography, blown glass, sterling silver jewelry, pottery, stained glass, hand-made toys, candles, quilts, home-made fudge and more. Local musicians play live music throughout the day. The Festival of the Arts is free.
“The POPS is one of the most uplifting events I’ve ever been to,” said Bobby Brown, one of the founders of the POPS, former board president, and concert emcee for all of its eight years. “The setting is stunning. The program and performers are always excellent. People dance, they sing along, they cheer proudly when the BSO plays its patriotic salute. The combination of music, moonlight and mountains truly is magical.
“What can be better than a day-long artisan festival, local musicians featured on the main stage, and an evening highlighted by the BSO and fireworks — with proceeds to support music enrichment in two school districts?” Brown added.
Brown was referring to the Kingfield POPS’ mission, which includes a commitment to providing music enrichment for youth — specifically music education, opportunities to see fine live music, and occasions for young musicians to perform for appreciative audiences — as well as enhancing community economic development. This is why the POPS offers free tickets to youths age 17 and younger.
POPS president Donald Tranten noted, “We have been able to present this major event — and it’s been eight years now — because of the incredible commitment from volunteers and donors. Volunteers are the heart and soul that drive everything. It’s a simple fact that without them there would be no POPS. And our loyal sponsors — such as Camden National Bank, who has been our lead sponsor since the very beginning — have made it possible for us not only to put on the event but to provide music enrichment for young people in the region.”
Admission is free for the Festival of the Arts (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Tickets for the Kingfield POPS concert are $20 in advance, $25 at the gate, and free for children 17 and under. Gate opens at 4:30 p.m. Picnics are welcome; food vendors are on site. Pets should be left at home. Tickets are available online at www.kingfieldpops.com, by calling (207) 265-POPS, at Tranten’s Family Market in Kingfield and Farmington, and at branches of the Camden National Bank in Kingfield, Farmington, Rangeley, Stratton and Phillips. Lodging packages are available.
