HOPKINTON – Five local musicians have teamed up for a benefit concert in support of the Hopkinton Center for the Arts. At Home with the HCA: A Benefit Concert will be live streamed on the organization’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/hopartscenter) on Friday, May 15, with music starting at 7:30 p.m.
Performers include Barbara Kessler, Jere Shea, David Jeremiah, Steve Spector, and Patrick Faucher.
The concert is free, but donations are welcome.
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“We have some amazingly talented local musicians, a Grammy nominee, Tony nominee, music award winners – it is truly incredible how much talent we have right here in our community and they are all coming out in support of the HCA,” said Center Director Kelly Grill. “This is a fun way to relax for an evening, forget about your worries, and just enjoy the music.”
With the closure of the Hopkinton Center for the Arts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the arts center has lost much-needed revenue from its usually packed schedule of live music and dance events, art exhibits, and rentals.
Currently the Hopkinton Center for the Arts is offering a wide range of online classes and live virtual music events.
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Barbara Kessler is an American folk-rock singer-songwriter. Kessler entered the professional music scene several years after graduating from Cornell University, quicklymoving from opening act to the main stage. Her debut CD Stranger To This Land won a Boston Music Award for best new folk/acoustic album. She has won awards from folk festivals including Kerrville, Telluride, and Rocky Mountain folks, has received national airplay as well as been featured on Sirius/XM and Mountain Stage, and her songs continue to be placed on TV shows like NCIS, JAG, Passions, One Life to Live, The
Young and The Restless, All My Children, Ed, Felicity, and MTV. “Dreaming My Way Home,” the end credit theme song she co-wrote and produced for the SONY PlayStation game, Rogue Galaxy has introduced Kessler to an international audience of all ages. During her touring career Kessler shared the stage with artists including the Indigo Girls, David Wilcox, Shawn Colvin, Arlo Guthrie, Dar Williams, Richie Havens, Christine Lavin,
Livingston Taylor and many others.
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Shea is a Tony Award-nominated stage, film and television actor, and
entertainer. Perhaps best known as Sgt. Hank Signa in Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Showtime series City On A Hill with Kevin Bacon, Shea’s film and tv resume includes Blue Bloods, Law & Order, The Cosby Mysteries, the Boston based feature film SOUTHIE, and many more. Shea created the role of Giorgio in the Broadway/worldpremiere of Stephen Sondheim’s Passion. He starred in the 1992 Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls, the 1993 remounting of Damn Yankees, and has played leading roles
in theaters across the US.Shea’s live music performances feature popular songs from the pre-WWII era rightthrough today’s hits, all selected to be familiar and enjoyable for audiences of every age. Shea’s setlists range from Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley and The Beatles to Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, John Denver, Kenny Rogers, and more. He
even throws in memorable songs from classic movies and Broadway shows.
Jeremiah is a Grammy-nominated songwriter (Mary’s Song) with three top ten hits (You Changed My Life, You Must Have Known, Must Be You).
Jeremiah grew up in Hopkinton, the son of a telephone worker and a Capitol Records50’s recording artist. At the age of 12, Jeremiah and his mother assembled their family into a traveling singing group and played at various locations throughout the northeast.
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“The highlight of my young career was when Maria Von Trapp came up from the audience, buried my head in her cavernous bosom and told the audience (with a thick Austrian accent) ‘Dis vun ees my favorite.’ “David recalls. He was also the favorite entertainer for Kennedy family functions on Cape Cod and was the featured guest singer/guitar player for two PBS shows (Club 44 and Boston Today). After living in California most of his adult life, Jeremiah is back in Hopkinton and works as a voiceover artist, lending his talents to television and radio commercials such as Petco, eHarmony, Applebee’s, NIKE, Dunkin Donuts and dozens more. He also has
narrated documentaries for The History Channel, The National Geographic Channel, NBC, and The Discovery Channel.
A lifelong musician, Faucher recorded and toured extensively as a trumpet player and backing vocalist, playing in groups that range from Reggae to Rock, Big Band and Blues. More recently he has stepped into the front man role with his funk rock group, Soul Function, signing tunes from Chicago, Earth Wind and Fire, Doobie Brothers and many others. He is most passionate about singing and connecting with audiences through the music and sees this solo performance opportunity as a special treat.
“I never have really done just me and a guitar and being able to share the (virtual) stage with such talented performers is truly an honor!”
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Faucher earned a degree from Berklee College of Music after studying electrical engineering and computer science and now works at Bose building cloud technology for their speakers and headphones.
Spector’s musical career spans over four decades playing with some of the
most talented musicians in New England. Most recently, Spector performed with world-class violinist Violingrrl at The Arlington Regent Theatre, where they opened for comedian Peter Fogel in February. He is currently the front man for the band Hot Acoustics, an incredible group of talented friends and musicians. During the current pandemic, Spector has been sharing his music on his virtual World Tour on Facebook, performing dozens of his favorite acoustic based soft rock songs since mid-March. The “tour” has been incredible, and the experience has been particularly rewarding as so many friends, new and old, near and far, have joined Spector on his “tour.” “I feel so fortunate to have music in my life, it’s led to some wonderful and lasting friendships and memorable experiences while at the same time
created so much joy and happiness for so many people.” Spector is a resident of Hopkinton, where he lives with his wife Donna and their two
children.
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The Hopkinton Center for the Arts offers arts to all people. Classes, productions, and exhibitions serve an inclusive community of students, performers, and exhibiting artists diverse in age, ability, experience, ethnicity, and geography. In the visual arts, theater, music, and dance, HCA annually offers over 200 classes to more than 1,000 students, from preschool to seniors, drawn from more than 40 neighboring cities and towns. In 2015 the HCA opened its new arts center, with newly renovated classrooms, a new 200-seat performance space, and new gallery spaces. The Delbridge Family Performance Space and the Lotvin Family Gallery annually present dozens of productions and exhibitions.
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Press release and photo submitted to SOURCE media
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