Archives for May 2009

Author, entertainer, and humorist Tom Cordle will present ” Historical American Tales in Song and Humor” in the Black Box. 
His interesting life experiences and great sense of humor make Tom’s presentations so enjoyable.  With his guitar, harmonica and vocals he will lead us through Americana….with humor of course!
Tom has opened for Willie Nelson and worked for many years as a set designer for Nickolodeon.  He resides in Tellico Plains, Tennessee.
Tickets $10.  7:30 p.m.  Black Box.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

A local favorite is back!  Marquita Bernard is back to Newaygo County for a visit with family and agreed to perform once again in the Black Box!  The  vibrant and soulful mixture of her piano and vocals is sure to provide a great evening for everyone.   
Marqui was a part of the group “Mother Soul” for 8 years and now lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. 
Marqui will perform original and cover songs that will delight you whether you have seen her perform before or not!
Tickets $7.50.  7:30 p.m.  Black Box.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

An evening of music, dance and drum from around the world!  Performances include American Indian Dance and Drum, Flamenco Dancing, Indonesian Dancers, Middle Eastern Sword Dance, African Drum and Dancers, and Irish/Scottish Drum, Bagpipe and Fiddle.
Tickets $10. 7:30 p.m. Main Stage.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

 Jazz and rhythm and blues performer Kathy Lamar will be accompanied by pianist Bob VanStee in what is sure to be a vibrant and energetic performance! 
LaMar has displayed her vocal talents from Vegas to Shang-hi for the past 20 years.  As a background vocalist, she has performed with Gladys Knight, The Four Tops, and Lola Falana. 
Her style ranges from Billy Holiday, Nancy Wilson, Anita Baker, Tina Turner, Sade and Ella Fitzgerald with her sultry Jazz, R/B, and Blues sound.  Kathy sings with Ronald McNeir, of the legendary Motown group the Four Tops, on his CD “Ronnie Mac & Company”.
With a smoky evocative voice, she has mesmerized audiences and captured the hearts of Jazz and R/B lovers around the globe.  She was born and raised in Grand Rapids and is back in Michigan for a short time only!
Bob Van Stee started playing piano by ear at the age of 7.  Some of the bands he has worked with are The New World Singers during the 1960’s, Kenny Gordon & the Sound Gathering and Checkers Morton during the 1970’s,   Turning Point in the 1980’s, and Madhouse in the 1990’s.  For the last year he has been a part of the piano vocal duo with Tony Reynolds, who is the vocalist with The Tom Jones Band.
Tickets $10. 7:30 p.m. Black Box.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

Anne Kraley, accompanied by Phil Pletcher, will perform a vocal recital featuring light classical favorites by Handel, Mozart, Puccini, as well as musical theatre favorites by Bernstein, Lerner & Lowe, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more.
Anne is a classically trained soprano and has experience as a concert soloist, stage performer and as an ensemble singer.  She has performed internationally as a soloist with the Czech National Symphony, as a participant in Operafestival di Roma, and in the US with the American Singers Opera Project.
She recently performed the title role of  West Michigan Savoyards production of  Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience at Grand Rapid’s Wealthy Theater.  Other theater credits include Fiametta in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers and Edith in Pirates of Penzance, Suor Cercatrice in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and an ensemble member of the Grand Rapid’s Civic Theater’s production of The Sound of Music.  
Anne is a graduate of Elmhurst College and works in the Marketing and Public Relations Department of the Grand Rapids Symphony.
Tickets $10. 7:30 p.m. Main Stage.
Kraley photo courtesy of Wojteck Dubrowski.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.

Join us in the Black Box for an incredible performance by Kathy Kosins in a tribute to the “Ladies of Cool”.  
Kosins not only has a critically acclaimed voice and eclectic musical palette, she also is the recipient of a Michigan Council of the Arts Michigan Jazz Composers Award, is a six-time ASCAP award winning songwriter, and is a jazz educator.
Kosins will perform songs of the 40’s and 50’s by some of the greatest powerhouse singers of all time such as Julie London, Anita O’Day, June Christy, and Chris Connor, household names to jazz and pop fans alike in that era.  Definitely “Cool Jazz by the Ladies of Cool”!
A serious musician from Detroit, she began singing and arranging background vocals for producer Don Was in the early eighties, acquiring over 35 credits to her name.  As a lead vocalist she recorded for both Cararre (Sony) and Quality Records then toured with Was/Not Was.  By the early nineties, her musical taste in R&B evelved to straight ahead jazz.  Stints with the JC Herald and Nelson Riddle Orchestras followed and led to a 1996 release of “All in a Dreams Work”, an impressive debut featuring a collection of nine originals and a cover of Miles’ Four.  Her 2002 release of “Mood Swings” continues to bring her recognition and success at the national level as well as her most recent recording “Vintage”.
Kosins also excels as a painter.  Her abstract acrylics on canvas are influenced by the cubist paintings of the 1950’s.   Samples of her work will be on display in the Dogwood Lobby Gallery the evening of her show.
Tickets $10.  7:30 p.m. Black Box.
The Dogwood Center Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to an event.  For information, phone 231.924.8885.
“One of the most alluring voices in Jazz. ” – Chicago Tribune