EVENTS CALENDAR

Miro Sprague, Jason Ennis, Marty Jaffe

Miro Sprague is a pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator known for his inspiring creativity, dynamic and passionate performance style, and artistic versatility. Currently based in Los Angeles, Miro leads his own trio and quintet and performs as a solo artist. Over the course of his career he has recorded extensively and worked with a wide range of artists including Karrin Allyson, Ingrid Jensen, Greg Osby, Walter Smith III, Dominique Eade, Matt Wilson, and Jeff Parker, among others

Miro grew up in a musical family in Western Massachusetts and began playing the piano and composing at age 13. Miro is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance (later renamed the Herbie Hancock Institute) While at the institute he had the opportunity to study with many of the world’s greatest improvising musicians, including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Billy Childs and Hal Crook. Miro graduated from the Institute in 2014 and has since maintained a busy performance schedule on both the east and west coasts. Miro is currently on faculty at Occidental College and has also taught at Interplay Jazz Camp and the UCLA Global Jazz Summer Intensive.

Guitarist Jason Ennis is an exciting voice in the world of jazz guitar. His unique sound, deep groove and sensitive feel, along with a diverse background in jazz, blues, Brazilian music and classical music have made him highly in demand as a soloist, sideman, bandleader and musical director. A graduate of Middlebury College (BA in music), Jason attended Berklee College of Music (Boston) and The San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Currently residing in Pittsfield, MA, Ennis is a Lecturer in Music at Dartmouth College and an Artist Associate in Jazz Guitar and Co-Director of Small Jazz Combos at Williams College. He released his debut recording as a leader, Jota Sete, in June of 2022. He co-leads the world jazz trio La Voz de Tres and is co-composer and musical director for En Diablada, an original music project by Chilean vocalist Natalia Bernal.

One of New York City’s most versatile and highly sought after bassists, Marty Jaffe has performed with musical icons Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, Sullivan Fortner, Karrin Allyson, and Helen Sung, among others. When not in NYC, Marty tours extensively throughout the US and world with numerous artists, including pianists Isaiah Thompson, Ben Rosenblum, David Meder, and Marcus Roberts.

Marty was born into a family of extraordinary musicians, including his father, renowned pianist and educator Andy Jaffe. He grew up in Conway Massachusetts and moved to New York City in 2012 to attend Columbia and Juilliard, where he studied under musical giants Ron Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Ray Drummond, and Frank Kimbrough. His accolades include being named a 2012 Presidential Scholar in the Arts and winning the International Society of Bassists’ jazz competition in 2013.

Marty is active as a bandleader and has presented his original music at the Kennedy Center, The New World Center for the Arts, and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

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Performer BIOS: Ellen Barry, Raye Birk, Candace Barrette Birk

Ellen Barry

Ellen Barry has appeared in nearly 100 classical and contemporary roles in NYC and at regional theatres including the WorkShop, Century Center, and White Horse (NYC); McCarter (NJ), New Century and Majestic (MA), Syracuse Stage (NY), Boarshead (MI), St. Michael’s (VT) and Southern Stage (LA). For Violet in August: Osage County she received the NOLA Big Easy Best Leading Actress Award; Detroit Free Press named her Best Leading Actress for Vivian Bearing in Wit and for Ella in Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman she received an Off-Off Broadway Award. Other favorite roles have been Tennessee Williams’ Maggie, Blanche, Stella, and Hannah; Shakespeare’s Hermione, Constance, and Juliet; Martha in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf; Meg and Lorraine in Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind, and Katherine in Terrence McNally’s A Perfect Ganesh. A graduate of Northwestern University, she also has wide experience behind the scenes as stage manager, Board Chair, development/marketing consultant and script reader for Broadway, Off-Broadway, stock and LORT productions. Ellen and her late husband, Paul Barry, founded the NJ Shakespeare Festival (now Shakespeare Theatre of NJ). During their 27-year tenure, nearly 200 plays were presented, including all 38 in the Shakespeare canon and works by other authors from Sophocles to Stoppard. Ellen is delighted to be returning to North Hall, where her one-woman show, Lizzie Borden at Eight O’Clock, premiered before its successful NYC run and subsequent performances around the tri-state area. Other North Hall appearances over many years have included another one-woman show, The Infinite Variety of Shakespeare’s Women, and numerous readings of a variety of plays.

Raye Birk

RAYE BIRK has been a professional actor for 50 years and has worked at numerous regional theatres including the Milwaukee Rep., the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Rep., Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, South Coast Rep. in Costa Mesa, CA and the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Raye is a native of Flint, MI and his theatre training includes degrees from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and an MFA from the University of Minnesota. He was the recipient of a McKnight Fellowship in graduate school and a Fox Foundation Fellowship in 2005.

He performed for nine seasons with the American Conservatory Theatre of San Francisco, playing leading roles in The Browning Version, The Three Sisters, Pantagleize, Equus, Travesties, Hotel Paradiso, A Christmas Carol, A Moon for the Misbegotten and The Taming of the Shrew. He returned to ACT for five years to recreate his highly acclaimed performance as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.

During the 20 years he lived in Los Angeles he appeared in nearly 150 television show, including recurring roles on LA Law, The Wonder Years, Coach, Cheers, Silk Stalkings, Dear John, The Popcorn Kid and The Black Scorpion as well episodes of Babylon 5, X-Files, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Touched by an Angel, ER, Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Star Trek, Picket Fences, Alf, Perry Mason and numerous TV movies. His feature films appearances include Doc Hollywood, Throw Momma From the Train, The War of the Roses, Naked Gun & Naked Gun 33 1/3, Class Act and Burglar, Factotum, North Country, Sweetland and A Serious Man.

In spring of 2003 Raye and his wife Candace Barrett moved to the Twin Cities where he appeared in 27 productions at the Guthrie Theater, including The Sunshine Boys, Long Days Journey Into Night, Othello, A Delicate Balance, Faith Healer, Pride and Prejudice, 1776, The Great Gatsby, Third, The Winter's Tale, Pygmalion, His Girl Friday, Macbeth, The Crucible, West Side Story and four seasons as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. Other Twin Cities appearances included Old Wicked Songs with Theatre Latte Da, The Last Word and Shul with the Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company, and King Lear at Park Square Theatre. Raye also created The Actors WorkOut, which was an ongoing training studio at the Guthrie Theater for professionally oriented performers.

He joined Mark Rylance and the cast of Nice Fish at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn and continued the run at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End.

Raye and Candace moved to Northampton Massachusetts in 2019, where they currently make their home. He has been seen locally in the Chester Theatre Company’s productions of To The Moon and Back and Curve of Departure and continues to teach his Actors WorkOut at the Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity in Florence

CANDACE BARRETT BIRK

Candace Barrett Birk has been involved in many facets the professional and academic theater community throughout her 55-year career taking on the positions of teaching artist, administrator, director and actor. Candace is a native of Des Moines, Iowa. She received her theater training degrees at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

She has been a member of several acting companies including the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the American Conservatory, Live Action Set, Hippocrates Café, Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company, Theatre in the Round, The Open Eye Figure Theater, the Guthrie Theater and most recently with the Chester Theatre Company in Chester, MA.

Candace has directed productions for the Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company, SecondWind, University of Southern California and the American Conservatory Theatre. She has held additional positions in the arts world including Director of the Young Conservatory at the American Conservatory Theatre (San Francisco, CA), Founder and Director of The Academy of Theater and Media Arts (San Francisco, CA), Associate Professor of Theatre at Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX); Adjunct Professor of Theatre at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA); and Assistant Professor of Acting and Directing at San Francisco State University and Lead Teaching Artist at the Guthrie Theater.

Other projects have included serving on numerous boards and national panels including the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Humanities, directing live entertainment for Disneyland, developing design and content for an equine theme park in Dubai, developing the primary concept for a Peace Center in Korea and writing K-12 mythology curriculum for the Joseph Campbell Foundation. She completed a post-baccalaureate certificate program in Integrative Therapies and Healing Therapies at the University of Minnesota and practices health coaching at www.candacebirkcoaching.com

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The Squeezebox Stompers, hailing from the Boston area, exemplify the essence of Americana roots music. With a remarkable fifteen-year journey, they’ve graced New England with their renditions of cajun, zydeco, blues, folk and original compositions, earning accolades such as Boston Music Awards and Songwriting Awards. Their latest release, What’s So Bad About Feeling Good, is a captivating eleven-track opus. Listening to this album, you'll be transported to the visceral ambience of a live performance.

Ralph Tufo plays the accordion, piano, Anglo concertina and Cajun accordion. Ralph was a founding member of the Boogaloo Swamis who were 4 time Boston Music Award winners. The Swamis were largely responsible for the introduction of Cajun, Zydeco, and New Orleans music to New England . They toured and recorded extensively. In addition to performing for over 30 years, Ralph has been a prolific songwriter, with over 50 songs to his credit.

Larry Plitt is the proud winner of the 2007 Boston Folk Festival Singer/Songwriter contest. His playing is rooted in the Piedmont and Delta blues styles and peppered with Cajun, Zydeco, Celtic and classical influences. He loves singin' the blues. As a veteran of the San Fransisco folk rock scene of the early 70's, he played in a number of bands including Camp Granada and the Stephen Fiske Band.

Jeffrey O’Neil a.k.a. O’Cello, a.k.a. J.O. is a bassist, cellist and vocalist. He’s been playing music in the Boston area for the last 40 years. He recently retired from teaching music education in Newton, MA. Jeff loves to play a variety styles of music. His experience includes performing Old Time string music, Afro Pop, and Funk. He’s currently a member of the Arlington Philharmonic Orchestra. He performs solo cello under the name, O’Cello.

Art Schatz has been a mainstay fiddler on the Boston country and bluegrass scene for over 30 years with a style that ranges from folk/Cajun to classic Country, Blues and Swing. One of the newest members of the Squeezebox Stompers, Art also plays with the Beantown Buckaroos and Foggy Mountain Consort, and teaches fiddle privately and at workshops throughout New England.

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Performer Bios: Chris Devine, John Van Eps, Jerry Noble, Kara Noble

Chris Devine

An entertainer of diverse talents, Chris Devine performs on electric and acoustic violin, mandolin, guitar, flute, saxophone, keyboard and vocals, and as an actor and comic. Conservatory-trained as a violinist, and an all-around session musician, he has appeared on hundreds of releases in many different styles of music, including classical, jazz, rock, pop, country, and ethnic. His compositions include three original musicals and his performances have been aired on Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and PBS. Chris toured Europe and Russia for some years in Blackmore’s Night, as a featured soloist beside legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple. In his theatrical career, he has portrayed many iconic roles of Shakespeare and of numerous contemporary dramas and comedies.

John Van Eps is a producer, composer, and engineer who has created and arranged music for TV and film productions, including CBS’s US Open Tennis, Olympics, and Image,. the CBS NFL Football Theme, Nightmare on Elm Street 3, Making Mr. Right, Penn and Teller Get Killed, and Identity Crisis. He wrote the score for TriStar’s Buster and Chauncey’s Silent Night, the independent film Under Hellgate Bridge, and the documentary War Made Easy. He has composed music for commercials for Chevy, Ford, Xerox, AT&T, Advil, Visa, Tyco, Fisher Price, Jell-O, McDonalds and Campbell’s. He arranged and produced three solo albums for Robert Lamm (of the band Chicago), and he co-produced the children’s CD Twin Spin for Chicago records. John currently teaches at Deerfield Academy, and he is composing music for the Spirit Music Group, producing solo albums for Roger Daltrey and Rob Lamm, producing for French singer-songwriter Chardeau.

Jerry Noble is a sought-after musical collaborator who performs across a wide range of genres and styles from classical to rock. His original compositions and arrangements have been played by choral and instrumental ensembles and by soloists throughout the U.S. and around the world, and the music he writes reflects a diverse and eclectic range of influences. As a pianist and guitarist, he has accompanied faculty, staff, students and professional musicians, and he performed with jazz clarinetist Bob Sparkman for nearly 30 years. Jerry has written classical music features and reviews for the Springfield Republican newspapers since 1988. He’s now delving into programming for local concert series, working with area presenters including the Tuesday Morning Music Club and Mohawk Trail Concerts.

Bass player Kara Noble is a professional writer, editor, and publications designer who spent 10 years on the editorial staff of Merriam-Webster. She was inspired to play bass by Carol Kaye and got her first electric bass (the one she’s playing today) in 1972. Her early musical influences ran to the Carpenters, John Denver, Carole King, and Willie Nelson, and she (briefly) attended The Hartt School as a classical guitarist. She got hooked on jazz in college, and she was thrilled when her husband Jerry and clarinetist Bob Sparkman invited her to join The Bob Sparkman Trio in 2016.

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Who we are:

Ballroom Outlet is a family owned business of dance instructors. We teach private and group dance lessons of dances such as salsa, bachata, merengue, cha-cha, samba, mambo, swing, bolero, tango, waltz, Viennese waltz, hustle, country line dance, fox trot, and rhumba. We perform at special events, fundraisers, compete professionally and with students at ballroom competitions. We provide lessons for first wedding dances, couple dancing, single dance lessons, date night dance lessons, dance lessons for beginners, youth dance lessons and more. We provide personalized instruction and feedback so that students can make the most out of each class. Everyone learns differently, so our courses are designed to accommodate different learning styles and levels. We strive to make our classes accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

Jayden Leighty is a Competitive Rhythm Dancer. He is a Certified Ballroom Dance Instructor for American Rhythm and Smooth Dances. Jayden has been dancing and competing since the age of 14 when he joined a local ballroom dance studio. Jayden, with his entrepreneurial spirit branched out and started his own business just out of high school, Ballroom Outlet. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge of dance and teaching others. He is a lifelong resident of Western Mass currently residing in Westfield. Future visions include continuing to build the Ballroom Outlet dance community and continuing to compete in regional and national competitions with his partner Susanna Westcott.

Susanna Westcott is a Competitive Rhythm Dancer and Certified Ballroom Dance Instructor for American Rhythm and Smooth Dances. Susanna has been dancing and performing all her life. Her ballroom career started in 2018 when she joined a local ballroom studio as a teacher. She is now a co-owner of Ballroom Outlet. Susanna is a passionate teacher who loves to watch her students grow in their passion for dance. She has helped develop dancers not only for social dancing but for competitive dance as well. Susanna is a lifelong resident of Western Mass and currently resides in Holyoke. Future visions include continuing to compete with her dance partner Jayden Leighty and continuing to develop and see the Ballroom Outlet community thrive.

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Performer BIOS

Ron Jackson (guitar), a retired life insurance executive and Lt. Col. in the USAF/ANG, honed his love of country music on Hank Williams, the Louvin Brothers, Carl Smith, Webb Pierce, Faron Young, Ernest Tubb, and so many others. However, the biggest influence to shape his country music love was his uncle Fred, who came back from WWII playing guitar and singing country music. An accordion player by trade, in his mid-teens, Ron was playing in local Honky Tonks with area country bands. In his retirement years, he thanks his wife, Gail, for allowing
him to live out his dream of playing good, old country and bluegrass music with his friends.

Dan Pilachowski (flat picked guitar) was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, a hotbed of bluegrass music in the 60s and 70s. He became familiar withthe music when he got a hold of a guitar at age twelve.One of his mentors was the late Pudge Warfield, a noted lead guitarist from Martinsburg, WVA. Attending bluegrass festivals in Berryville, VA and Indian Springs, MD helped to hone his skills on the guitar and in bluegrass music in general. In 1980 Dan moved to South Hadley, Massachusetts and one weekend he attended the One Day In May Bluegrass Festival in Granby at Dufresne Recreation Area. There he met and befriended Dave Helman, the festival organizer andfellow Marylander.
Later Dan became one of the founding members of the East Mountain Ramblers along with Dave and his son Daniel. He has played inseveral other groups including the Good Samaritan Singers. He is also a sought after lead and rhythm guitar player at any area jam session.

Dave Helman (bass) wears many hats and is lovingly called ”Mister Bluegrass of Western Mass” by his wife Rose. He was born in West Virginia, grew up in Western Maryland, and was influenced by the country musicians in his neighborhood and by the records his mother had in her collection. Dave’s mom thought he was upstairs sleeping when in fact he was listening to Lee Moore The Coffee Drinkin’ Night Hawk on his midnight to dawn radio show on WWVA in Wheeling, WVA,. and Wayne Rainey on WCKY in Cincinnati. Dave eventually met his radio mentor Lee Moore and hired him to perform at some of his functions. His Uncle Sam brought him up to Massachusetts to Westover AFB in Chicopee in 1962 for a stint and was married here in 1966. Still listening to country and bluegrass and collecting records he discovered the
Country Blues and Bluegrass show on WMUA at the University of Massachusetts. Upon calling the show one Sunday afternoon he was able
to eventually become one of the deejays there which was a life-long dream. In 1983 a move was made to his current position at WTCC at Springfield Technical Community College with his Country Corner Show featuring vintage country and bluegrass on Saturdays. Dave has been instrumental in the promotion of the One Day In May BG Festival, Bluegrass At Buttery Brook, the Country Corner Coffee House concert series as well as being an MC, promoter and sound engineer. The bass is his instrument and he has played with several bands over the years which include the East Mountain Ramblers, The Cowtippers, Dan Helman and Marking Time and The Good Samaritan Singers.

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Tenor Antonio Abate is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music where he received both a bachelors degree and a graduate diploma. Hailed for his diction, paired with his ability to sing in multiple languages, Mr. Abate is considered a go-to performer for some of the top religious institutions in NewYork and New England. In opera, his major credits include the title roles in Faust and Offenbac’s Orphée Aux Enfers, Ottavio in DonGiovanni, Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Andrew Johnson in The Mother of Us All, and the Student Servant in the world premiere of Stephen Paulus’s Heloise and Abelard, Sam in Street Scene. Mr. Abate has performed at the Ravinia Steans Institute; the Marlboro, Bowdoin, and Aspen Music Festivals; and attended the young artist programs through Opera North and the Chautauqua Music School. For three summers he studied and performed at the Music Academy of the West in SantaBarbara, California under the tutelage of world renowned mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne. A resident of Chatham MA, Antonio has most recently been heard in concerts in Brewster, Chatham, and Dennis. This fall will bring performances in Western Massachusetts and South Carolina.

Soprano Amy Orsulak is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music. She has had the honor of singing on the stage of the Met, Chicago Lyric Opera, Carnegie Hall and Symphony Space. Hailed as “having the voice of an angel” by her mom she is thrilled to be performing with her friends.

Pianist Jerome Tan, a native of Singapore, came to the U.S. on a music scholarship to the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University, where he earned masters degrees in piano performance and ensemble arts. He has served as a staff pianist at the Steans Institute of the Ravinia Festival. Since receiving the Marilyn Horne Foundation Award for Vocal Collaboration from the Music Academy of the West, he has become a regular collaborator with many singers. Notable engagements include both The Song Continues and On Wings of Song programs in New York, and a birthday gala in honor of Miss Horne at Carnegie Hall as well accompanist for singers at the L’Academie musicale de Villecroze in southern France.

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