Yet more Music for Brave Hearts

At Marblehead Little Theatre February 7 & 8 at 7:30 pm

Tickets:  $25 online here and at the Arnould Gallery in Marblehead

Marblehead resident and BBC broadcaster Rhod Sharp has once again gathered his favorite Celtic musicians together to perform a romantic evening of Scottish music, stories and songs.  The show, Love Scotland 3, will be performed at Marblehead Little Theatre on Friday and Saturday, February 7 and 8, 2020.

“This is the time of year that people of Scottish descent the world over celebrate the rich musical and spoken tradition of a land of breathtaking beauty beginning with the birthday of Robert Burns, the great Scottish music collector and poet”, Sharp said. “Can you think of a better way to escape the season of snowy days and long nights by the fire than with an early Valentine’s night out enjoying the rich and romantic songbook of Scotland?”

Joining Sharp on stage with be piper, singer and fiddler Elias Alexander, opera singer Julianne Gearhart and pianist and tap dancer Neil Pearlman.   This year they will bring their musical vision to the evergreen Scots ballad of shipwreck and tragedy, Sir Patrick Spens, which some might remember in the 1970  version by Fairport Convention.  Favourite songs and poems of Robert Burns will also be featured including the group’s own musical version of Burns’ poem Tam O’Shanter, a rollicking tale of pub society, horse riding under the influence and a dance of witches.

And, in a year when the UK government challenged Scotland’s right to determine its own future, Sharp says the cast will explore old and new takes on the freedom to live and love.

Piper, singer, and fiddler ELIAS ALEXANDER is one of a handful of musicians from the US at the creative frontier of contemporary Scottish music. He tours internationally with several bands including the eight-piece Afro-Celtic Funk Band Soulsha, Farsan, The Bywater Band and Seven Nations.  He has appeared at top festivals like Glasgow’s Celtic Connections, Cape Breton’s Celtic Colours, Festival of Small Halls (PEI), Austin Celtic Festival, KVMR Celtic Festival, and countless others.  

Also a songwriter, his pop music project Born Outside is set to debut in 2020.  The composer and music director of the play Taking Our Life, he is in demand as a tutor at music camps around the country including Alasdair Fraser’s renowned Sierra Fiddle Camp and the brand new Boston States Fiddle Camp coming this summer.

Praised on BBC Radio Scotland as a tremendous pianist NEIL PEARLMAN is renowned for his unique approach to Celtic music on the piano. Rooted in traditional Cape Breton piano styles, Neil’s accompaniment explores traditional music using a broad palette of techniques from jazz and other genres. An accomplished Cape Breton step dancer as well, Neil grew up in the family band Highland Soles. He has performed with Natalie MacMaster, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, among many others. The legendary Cape Breton fiddler Jerry Holland says that trying to follow Neil’s hands on the piano is like watching two spiders on crack.

An opera career in the US and Europe took JULIANNE GEARHART from Tel Aviv’s New Israel Opera to Belgium’s Vlaamse Opera to Opera North at the Edinburgh Festival to numerous roles with the Seattle Opera including Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier. Since being introduced to Burns a handful of years ago at the Old North Church Burns Supper she has brought a strength, grace and humor to the music that Burns and others collected which has charmed those lucky enough to hear her perform.

RHOD SHARP tells stories. Born and (mostly) educated in Scotland, he is in his final season presenting the BBC 5 Live international affairs radio show Up All Night to audiences in the UK and streaming around the world from his home studio in Marblehead. He has been reciting Scots poems since he was 5, and wishes he could remember half of them.