POSTPONED — AMC Trail Town Designation Celebration

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED ‘TIL LATE SUMMER.

Gorham has been designated an Appalachian Trail Community. Join us at 6 p.mn. on Friday, MaRch 27 for the Trail Town Designation Celebration, with a presentation beginning at 6:30 by Jeffrey H. Ryan, the Maine author of Blazing Ahead: Benton MacKaye, Myron Avery and the Rivalry that Built the Appalachian Trail. A Q&A will follow.

Comedian-Juggler Bryson Lang at Medallion Opera House

Bryson Lang will be performing on Saturday, April 13, at 11 am at the Medallion Opera House, Gorham Town Hall, 20 Park Street, Gorham.

Everyone from elementary school kids to senior citizens enjoy Bryson Lang’s interactive, family-friendly Comedy-Juggling show. Bryson uses ball-spinning, flying sombreros, giant bouncing rings, object manipulation, original comedy and audience participation for a unique and visual entertainment experience. He combines performance to music and comedy to create an exciting, interactive show. You will definitely see things you’ve never seen before and you’ll be laughing along the way.

The Reno Gazette Journal said, “A talented juggler who wins the audience with his charm.” Tahoe Spotlight Magazine called him, “Outstanding and a fast-paced mix of world-class juggling and comedy!” He’s technical, he’s fun, he’s silly and he’s entertaining.

Come see why Bryson Lang is “The Cure for the Common Show!”

The show is presented by the Medallion Opera House and sponsored by the Gorham Public Library and McDonald’s Restaurant in Gorham. Donations gratefully accepted at the door.

Pianist Andrew Willis to Perform Bach Partitas at Medallion Opera House

On Tuesday, April 9th, at 7 pm, one of the world’s most thrilling pianists, Andrew Willis, will be returning to the Medallion Opera House, Gorham Town Hall, with a Baroque forte-piano in the Florentine tradition. The celebrated pianist will perform three of the six Partitas of J. S. Bach.  Five years ago Andrew Willis played at the Medallion, delivering a memorable concert which brought the enthusiastic audience to its feet, begging for more.  The concert, which is co-sponsored by Music in the Great North Woods, will be offered by donations at the door.  Donations will help fund this summer’s Big Moose Bach Fest which is in its tenth year.

Andrew Willis performs in the United States and abroad on pianos of every era.  Keenly interested in the history of the piano, he is a past president of the Southeastern Historical Keyboard Society and a Trustee of the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies.  Willis has recorded solo and ensemble music for the Albany, Bridge, Claves, Centaur, and CRI labels, notably with Malcolm Bilson and other colleagues in the first complete Beethoven sonata cycle recorded on historical pianos.  His recording of Op. 106 was hailed by The New York Times as “a ‘Hammerklavier’ of rare stature.”

Andrew Willis has appeared at the Boston Early Music Festival, and numerous others across the country. A Professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Music, Willis teaches performance on instruments ranging from harpsichord to modern piano, and for over a decade has directed the biennial “UNCG Focus on Piano Literature” symposium. Willis received the Doctorate in Historical Performance from Cornell University, where he studied fortepiano with Malcolm Bilson, the Masters from Temple University under the guidance of George Sementovsky and Lambert Orkis, and the Baccalaureate in Piano from The Curtis Institute of Music, where his mentor was Mieczyslaw Horszowski.

For more information, visit Music in the Great North Woods, www.musicgnw.org or the Medallion Opera House, www.medallionoperahouse.org.

Medallion Opera House Presents: Singer/Songwriter Carlos Olmeda

The Medallion Opera House is pleased to present Carlos Angeles Olmeda who will perform live on Saturday, March 23rd at 7 pm, at the Gorham Town Hall, 20 Park Street, Gorham. Tickets are $12/adult and $8/student (18 & under) and will be available in advance at the Gorham Town Hall, White Mountain Café & Bookstore and online at www.medallionoperahouse.org.

Carlos hails proudly from the acoustic singer/songwriter school of performance. The big difference between Carlos’ songwriting and
performance styles and that of so many others is that Carlos’ music transports you to a wide spectrum of emotional and cultural destinations. It is almost inevitable that after his show, a fan will approach Carlos and say with genuine enthusiasm, “Wow! That was definitely not what I was expecting. How is it that you can change gears so effortlessly throughout your show?” He is quick to point out that Tri-cultural Pop is all about changing gears and realigning perspectives.

“My mother was always putting on this old, scratchy LP called Music
From Around The Globe, and I would sit mesmerized at how beautifully
diverse each song sounded. I believe that being born in Puerto Rico in
1960 spared me from the dreary fate of becoming a genre purist. It all
boils down to one thing: will the song I’m playing for you at this very
moment in time, move you?”

On any given night, fans can hear at least four different songwriting
styles in at least two languages performed with heartfelt passion as well
as sense of humor. Carlos has the innate ability to make each fan feel as
if the song was written for and sung directly to them. After the first two
or three songs, you begin to feel as though Carlos is in your living room. It feels like home!

Comedian Juston McKinney at Medallion Opera House

With multiple appearances on The Tonight Show, his own Comedy Central Specials and consistently selling out theaters, Juston McKinney is at the top of his game.

He has appeared on a half dozen Comedy Central shows including his half hour Comedy Central presents and his one-hour special Juston McKinney – A Middle Class Hole, which was released by Warner Bros. He has appeared numerous times on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno as well as the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. He was chosen to be part of the Blue Collar Comedy “Next Generation” Tour, with Bill Engval, which aired on TBS and had his own weekly show on Sirius/XM radio, Live from the Woods with Juston McKinney. In 2018, Juston could be seen on the Showtime special Unsportsmanlike Comedy with Rob Gronkowski and part of Comics Come Home comedy event at the TD Garden.

His TV credits include: The King of Queens, the Sidney Lumet drama 100 Centre Street. His move credits include The Zoo Keeper and Here Comes the Boom.

Juston also wrote, created and starred in the web series Hosed, about a volunteer fire department in the fictitious town of Effingwoods, NH. It caught the eye of Denis Leary and his production company Apostle. Juston then wrote the pilot and it was sold to IFC

Allman Brothers Tribute Band, the Peacheaters, at Medallion Opera House

The Peacheaters dig deep into the 40 + year catalog of Allman Brothers Band music and deliver an EXPERIENCE like no other.

Fueled by admiration and passion for the music of the ABB, The Peacheaters have been rocking audiences for over 15 years. The Boston Globe, WZLX, Boston’s Classic Rock Radio, and many other media outlets have raved about the authenticity of the band’s performances.

The “Peach” has won multiple “Best Tribute Band” awards, and shared stages with legends such as The Outlaws, Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band), Matt Abts (Gov’t Mule), The Zen Tricksters, and James Montgomery.

Celtic American Holiday Concert with Low Lily, John Whelan & Katie McNally

Don’t miss this wonderful Celtic American Holiday Concert featuring Low Lily, seven times All-Ireland button accordionist John Whelan, and Scottish and Cape Breton fiddler Katie NcNally!

The string and vocal trio Low Lily explores the roots and branches of American folk music with traditional influences and modern inspiration that weaves together a unique brand of acoustic music. Liz Simmons (vocals and guitar), Flynn Cohen (vocals, guitar, and mandolin), and Lissa Schneckenburger (vocals and fiddle) are masterful players with deep relationships to traditional music styles ranging from bluegrass to Irish, Scottish, New England, and Old Time Appalachian sounds. When you combine this with stellar composition skills and inventive arrangements you get music that is rooted yet contemporary.

Low Lily’s new full-length album, 10,000 Days Like These, brings its members’ histories together and also takes a step forward with originals, covers, and overall, fresh new music. Simmons produced the album, creating a running thread through the project of political, personal, and occasionally humorous and quirky subject matter. The trio’s previous self-entitled EP was released in 2015.

Celtic master John Whelan and his red, two-row button accordion have been inseparable since the first day he picked up the instrument at age 11 in Dunstable, England. He has won six All-Britain championships and seven All-Ireland titles.

Scottish and Cape Breton fiddler Katie McNally has performed and taught fiddle courses in the U. S., Canada, Spain, Scotland, England and France. She has played at the Newport Folk Festival, the Barns at Wolf Trap, The Freight and Salvage, and the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, as well as various folk venues throughout North America.

Comedian Juston McKinney at The Medallion

With multiple performances on The Tonight Show, his own Comedy Central specials and consistently selling out theaters, Juston McKinney is at the top of his game.

Juston grew up living on the border of New Hampshire and Maine. After earning an associate’s degree from the very prestigious Southern Maine Community College, he was hired as a deputy Sheriff patrolling the same border in which he grew up. But in 1997 Juston turned in his gun and badge and left the dangerous streets of rural Maine and moved to the quiet community of Queens, New York. While living in NYC he worked his way into the weekend line-up at Comic Strip Live, Stand-Up New York, Dangerfield’s, Gotham, Caroline’s on Broadway and the New York Times called him, “Destined for stardom.” Juston would go on to sign sitcom development deals with Warner Brothers, CBS Productions, IFC and Comedy Central.

He has appeared on a half dozen Comedy Central shows including his half hour Comedy Central Presents and his 1-hour special Juston McKinney-A Middle-Class Hole, which was released by Warner Bros. He has appeared numerous times on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno as well as the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. He was chosen to be part of the Blue Collar Comedy” Next Generation” Tour, with Bill Engval, which aired on TBS and had his own weekly show on Sirius/XM radio, Live From the Woods with Juston McKinney.

His TV credits include The King of Queens, and the Sidney Lumet drama 100 Centre Street. His movie credits include The Zoo Keeper and Here Comes the Boom.

Juston also wrote, created and starred in the web series, Hosed, about a volunteer fire department in the fictitious town of Effingwoods, NH. It caught the eye of Denis Leary and his production company Apostle. Juston then wrote the pilot and it was sold to IFC.

He currently lives in New Hampshire with his wife, kids and dogs.

Virtuoso Pianist Raja Rahman at The Medallion

The Medallion Opera House in Gorham, with sponsorship from Music in the Great North Woods, is thrilled to bring Raja Rahman to play a program of Beethoven and Bach at Gorham Town Hall’s Medallion Opera House on Saturday, November 10, at 2:30 pm.  Described by the NY Sunday Times as a “powerhouse pianist,” the prize-winning Canadian virtuoso is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

Raja Rahman has performed worldwide with Sir Georg Solti, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Iona Brown. Winner of concerto competitions, Juilliard’s Vladimir Horowitz Scholarship, International Concert Artists competition, and numerous other prestigious awards, Raja’s career has taken him all over the world in concert as both soloist and chamber musician.

Collaborations have included performances with cellist Matt Haimovitz, and members of the Juilliard String Quartet and the San Francisco Symphony. Mr. Rahman’s Carnegie Hall debut took place while still at Juilliard, followed by his Lincoln Center debut shortly thereafter. Sir Georg Solti became an ardent supporter of Raja’s after they performed together in Germany. Teachers have included Seymour Lipkin, Jerome Lowenthal, Lev Vlassenko and Byron Janis.

For the last 20 years, Raja has been Director of Piano Studies at Nevada School of the Arts where he teaches a studio of 20 students.  He was awarded a Proclamation from the Mayor in recognition of his efforts to expand culture there. Raja, who co-stars in the magic and music duo “Jarrett & Raja,” has appeared on NBC’s America’s Got Talent as a semifinalist, the CW Network, ABC’s “Shark Tank,” “Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and the BBC.  Currently he is touring the East Coast and can be seen in his 5th season on The CW’s “Masters of Illusion.”

No tickets are required, due to underwriting by the non-profit organization, Music in the Great North Woods, but donations will be enthusiastically accepted for this rare appearance.

Homer’s Odysseus at The Medallion

A NH Humanities to Go program.

Using the well-known scenes of The Odyssey, Sebastian Lockwood delivers the passion and intensity of the great epic that deserves to be heard told as it was by bards in the days of old. Lockwood says, “The best compliment is when a ten-year-old comes up and says, ‘I felt like I was there.'” That is the magic of the performance that takes students and adults alike back into the text. The following Q&A can focus on translations and the storytelling techniques used by Homer.

Storyteller and teacher Sebastian Lockwood tells the great epics: Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Caesar, Beowulf and Monkey. His studies in Classics and Anthropology at Boston University and Cambridge University in the UK laid the foundation for bringing these great tales into performance. Lockwood’s performances are designed to take complex texts and make them accessible and exciting for audiences from 5 to 95. Lockwood has tutored and taught classes in higher education for 25 years. He now concentrates on performance, workshops and studio recording.