FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 3, 2005

CONTACT: Diane Nevill, (623) 930-3554, Public Information Officer
Anne Owens, 623-930-3573, Adult Programming Librarian

GLENDALE, Ariz - Something for everyone can be found in the performances at Glendale Main Library’s Live at the Library. The four offerings in February are no exception. Every Thursday, the public is invited to the 7 p.m. curtain call in the library auditorium at 5959 W. Brown St.

Scheduled presentations in February are: Opera-tunity Presents: The Three Little Pigs on Feb. 2, Celtic Guitarist and Storyteller Christopher Dean on Feb. 9, An Evening with “Doc Holliday” on Feb. 16 and Latin Jazz with Ruth Lara Vichules and Charles Lewis on Feb. 23.

They’re b-a-c-k! Opera-tunity, a small, professional opera company, is bringing “The Three Little Pigs” to Glendale. All ages will enjoy a very familiar story with a few new twists. Experience the effervescent music of Mozart chosen from his operas: “Don Giovanni,” “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Cosi fan Tute,” and more. Three charming little pigs, complete with noses, have to figure out how to save the house from the big bad leather-clad, sunglass-wearing wolf. Fortunately, one of the little pigs knows how to read. The Glendale Arts Commission is funding the appearance of Opera-tunity.

When Christopher Dean was five years old, his grandfather introduced him to the acoustic steel string guitar. He taught him a few chords and the melody to “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” After that, Dean had a lifelong addiction to music and the guitar. His professional career started in Tucson at age 18, playing rock and blues with The Night Sounds. Now an internationally recognized folk guitarist, Dean is not just a gifted exponent of Celtic music, he is also a bard. He tells engaging, humorous stories and weaves Celtic lore with his music. Since 1996, Dean has been primarily focused on performing the traditional and contemporary folk music of Ireland, Scotland and England. According to the “San Diego Troubadour,” Dean is known for his solo fingerstyle guitar that can “evoke the very soul of Celtic spirit and emotion.”

The team of Terry and Wyatt Earp is a formidable one. Yes, this Wyatt Earp is the great-great nephew of the legendary lawman. Last year, he brought his one-man show about Wyatt Earp to the library. This year he is returning with “An Evening with Doc Holliday.” He will be sharing the thoughts of the West’s most famous dentist and his journey from one who heals to one who kills. Wife Terry did extensive research about the subject, basing much of the information in this presentation on the book “Doc Holliday – A Family Portrait” by descendent Karen Holliday Tanner. After spending 30 years as a New York Life Insurance agent and doing part-time acting, Earp decided to retire from the insurance business and to pursue his acting career.  A playwright/producer/actress, Terry Earp began her writing career in 1988 and has since written over 35 plays, many of which has received both local and national recognition. Her first historically-based play, “Wyatt Earp: A Life on the Frontier,” won an ariZoni award and has had over 450 performances in the U.S. and Europe.

Bebop meets bolero when vocalist, musician and educator, Ruth Lara Vichules sings her contemporary interpretations of traditional Latin roots music and American jazz classics. Her love of music began at an early age. She was sung to sleep by her mother with German and Hebrew children’s songs, as well as Carter Family and Woody Guthrie ballads. Her life was changed forever when she visited Guadalajara, Mexico, in the early 1980s. She was overwhelmed by the beauty and depth of Latin American folk music. She promptly moved to Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, the land of Agustín Lara & Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and scoured the countryside for traditional music. Along the way, she picked up a Master’s degree, conducting an ethnographic collection of children’s verse from oral traditions. Fascinated by the use of improvisation in Mexican folk music and verse, Vichules studied son jarocho, a tradition from southern Veracruz that is highly improvisatory, with Gilberto Gutiérrez and the legendary group Mono Blanco. Now Vichules combines her passion for Latin roots music with American Heritage, writing original Spanish lyrics to American jazz classics. Vichules will be joined by the legendary jazz pianist Charles Lewis of The Charles Lewis Quintet. A member of the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame, Lewis is known not only for his prowess at the piano keys, but for his musical workshops, private lessons and work on arts-related boards and panels.

For more information on the free concerts, call Anne at 623-930-3573. Live at the Library is funded, in part, by grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Glendale Arts Commission.

 Future Live at the Library performances include:

Mar. 2 – The Claire Voyants: Irish Pub Songs and more!

Mar. 9 – The Piatigorsky Foundation: Classical Duo

Mar. 16 – Wild Thyme

Mar. 23 – Brad Richter (Classical Guitar)

Mar. 30 – Phoenix Girls Chorus