Music

I can already hear the howls of protest. “Censorship!” some will shout. “Freedom of speech!” will become the battle cry of others. “What's next? Book burning?” Efforts by school officials to weed out music at school events that includes profanity, sexual innuendo, and inappropriate messages is sure to whip up a frenzy. We live in a society that values liberty, and any attempt to rein in what some will characterize as protected speech is sure to be controversial. No one can deny that musicians are free to produce whatever music they choose, and people are free to buy it if they want to. That is not the issue in this situation.

Brahms and Beethoven are coming back to life and performing on Broadway in Winchester. STRIDE's second Music at the Manor fundraiser on Friday, Sept. 9, will feature STRIDE choir members and professional musicians who have played with the Lexington Philharmonic for a night of Broadway-themed tunes. The “picnic with the pops” event will feature songs from musicals, including “Wicked,” “Phantom of the Opera” and “The Lion King.” It will be at the Blackfish Golf and Hunt Club, 785 Bushwood Lane.

Sure, Lauren Mink would love to be a household name, like the country musicians whose music she likes to sing. And making a million dollars while she's at it wouldn't be bad, either. But Lauren Mink is not the kind of performer who takes the stage to become rich and famous. She is the kind of singer who sings her heart out when it's just her and the wait staff out on a Wednesday night, just like she sings her heart out when she's opening up for Rodney Atkins and Billy Currington at the annual Labor Day concert at Lykins Park.

I have been interested in the study of universal language. That includes the unspoken language between humans, and between humans and non-humans. The one that interests me most has to do with music. Music crosses all lines, all countries, all cultures. Sometimes I think when God made us, he put “the beat” into our souls. I have yet to meet a hearing human being that did not respond to the sound or the beat of all different kinds of music. Try this experiment. Go some place where you know nobody - if it cannot be another country or somewhere another language is spoken, then just go away from home and turn on some music.

Dear Editor, We are writing in regard to the "Police Blotter" published Dec. 4 in The Advocate-Messenger. While we were attending a church service on Sunday evening, according to the police blotter, a complaint was called in about our loud Christmas music. The anonymous caller said the music was keeping them awake, according to the police officer. The first night we played the music, we asked the neighbors across the street if the music bothered them because we didn't want to disturb anyone.

PERRYVILLE - Two free concerts are planned this summer in Perryville. The Music by the River concert series recently was announced by the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association. The concerts wil be at 2 p.m. June 17 and July 14 in downtown Perryville. People are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch and a blanket. Before each show, several buildings along Merchants Row will be open to the public. The Fuzzy Slippers band will perform June 17 at the historic Johnson-Brinton House, 207 S. Buell St., showcasing a blend of rock and country favorites.

Perry Williams may masquerade as a mild-mannered chiropractor by day, but don't be fooled. The Winchester resident and married father of three also happens to be leading a double life - meet Dr. Perry Williams, chiropractor and rock star. "I keep a guitar in my office, and when I'm not seeing patients, I'm in there practicing," Williams joked. "People ask me all the time if it's hard to be a musician and a chiropractor. It seems to be OK with people. It's really cool to not have them put me aside because I do something different.

WILMORE - Caleb Crosby was surrounded by thousands of people from across the continent when he and his friends arrived at Ichthus on Thursday evening, but he felt at home. "I've already seen 10 or 15 people that I know," he said. This was Caleb's first Ichthus festival, and he was enjoying it. "I'm a big music person. That's definitely my passion," said the recent George Rogers Clark High School graduate who turned 18 today. "What I want to do is play music, so to be able to be here and experience all these groups is pretty cool.

She described the sensation as being high at church. That was months ago. In contrast, on this Sunday, Becky's focus is on Jesus. She talked about what was the pinnacle of her Sunday church experience: "I used to get high on the music. " This was not an expression of a drug-manipulated brain but of a tangible response to emotional music. Becky continued telling about the past: "And then all I thought about was where we would go out to eat after church and who we would go with.

Aaron Raitiere likes the guitar. He likes being a vocalist. His first love, though, is songwriting. "I like to write lyrics and invent progressions and melodies," says the Boyle County native, adding he'd like to learn to play the drums. "I can't read music but I can tell a good story. "Anyone who can play three chords on a guitar can play my songs. I just like the fact that the stories are mine. " Raitiere, who recently graduated from Cornell University with a degree in American studies, says his music is "nothing complicated.

BURGIN - Beginning her career of teaching music in the Burgin school district part-time in 1977, Susan Shewmaker impacted the lives of many students over the course of those 36 years. That's why 35 of her former students surprised her with a performance of the school fight song Thursday night during her final spring concert. When Shewmaker's pending retirement was announced, Burgin Principal Martha Collier, 1996 alum Nicole Sparrow Short and current senior Christian Kestler concocted a plan to do something special for Shewmaker, and they successfully began contacting former band students from across the years.

PLEASANT HILL - The programs and artists for the 2013 Chamber Music Festival of the Bluegrass have been set. The festival, scheduled for May 25-26 will present four concerts featuring artists from New York's Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. An 11 a.m. performance May 25 in the 1820 Meeting House will feature works by Debussy, Ysaÿe, Britten and Paganini. An evening performance will take place at 5 p.m. in the Meadow View Barn, a restored open-air barn overlooking the quiet countryside, and will include works by Vivaldi, Mozart, Britten and Dohnányi.

Visitors to the Community Arts Center can take a trip to Indonesia and Asia without ever leaving their seats, thanks to Kuo-Huang Han, a recently-retired professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Kentucky. Indonesian music and culture has held a fascination for Han ever since his days as a student at Northwestern University, where he took a course on 20th century music. “I learned that Claude Debussy was influenced by Indonesian gamelan music, but I didn't know what that was,” Han explained.

Bluegrass Mental Healthand Wellness Partnership and The Danville Blues Society will team up to host Beatnik Blues - Chasing the Blues from 7-11 p.m. Friday at V-The Market on Fourth Street. The event will feature live blues and jazz music, poetry readings, an art auction and much more. All proceeds from the event will be used to fund mental health education and support the “Blues in Schools” program in the Danville and Boyle County school systems. The Danville Blues Society plays blues music every third Thursday of the month at 303W on Main Street, and part of its mission to keep blues music alive is to teach Blues in Schools.

It was a colorful performance in the West Jessamine High School auditorium Friday night as students from all five elementary schools presented music they've been working on all year - Dr. Seuss' “My Many Colored Days.” The 19 gifted students had gathered five times throughout the year on the afternoons of early-release days to rehearse, and they spent a majority of their school day Friday preparing in the West Jessamine High School auditorium for...

Storing music in the cloud is a popular practice of some music lovers. Basically, this practice stores your music collection on an online service owned by someone other than yourself. It is convenient, but what if the cloud disappears? I am not a fan of trusting the cloud with my beloved music. While I do have a small portion of my music collection in the cloud, this was an automatic feature of the service I used when I purchased the music. Although I did not put the music in the cloud myself, it is stored in the cloud free of charge and I do enjoy the convenience.

The LLL Club met at 10:30 a.m. March 19 at Central Baptist Church for a regular monthly meeting and potluck lunch. David Hoffman, president, called the meeting to order and gave the opening prayer. The Rev. Ed Davis was the devotional speaker, who read from 1 Corinthians 15. Glenda Hoffman, program chairperson, introduced the Winchester Dulcimers Club, who played several hymns. The minutes were read by Carolyn Steagall and the treasurer's report was given by Phyllis Henderson.

Gus Crow wasn't quite sure what to expect from the hourlong program Thursday by Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. Except for the obvious, of course: The 13-year-old expected to hear “awesome music.” Gus was at Danville High School with his dad, Matthew Hallock, who thought it important for Gus to experience a program with musicians the caliber of Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. “It is an incredible experience to be in the same room (with them),” Hallock said.

The Winchester Music Club, which is affiliated with the National and Kentucky Federated Music Clubs, met on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at the Rose Mary C. Brooks Place. Colista Ledford, president, presided at the meeting and welcomed the guests. Ms. Jacqueline Kohl, teacher of the Cardinal Music Conservatory, introduced her students as follows: “One Dozen Good Eggs,” a piano program. Hymn Class: Cooper Kincaid, “Praise God From Whom All Blessings¿Flow,” For The Beauty of the Earth” Ethan Hagnauer, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus” Naomi Schanding, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “Come Thou Almighty King”Tirzah Schanding, “This is My Father's World,” “Praise to the Lord the Almighty” Folk Class: Courtlin Crabtree, “Pop!

STANFORD - Students at Stanford Elementary School were treated to a very musical black-history event Friday afternoon. The gymnasium was packed out at the end of the school day for "From Africa to America," a special two-man show tracing the roots of today's popular music all the way back to centuries-old drumming traditions in Africa. Papa Malickfaye, a native of Senegal, West Africa, performed on his traditional goat-skin drum for the students and explained how the beat of a drum was the world's "first text message.