Alex Bevan to join Tuscarawas Philharmonic for a yuletide celebration
Bevan, who has been sharing his voice, guitar, music and stories with audiences for more than 35 years, has made a name for himself throughout the Regional Ohio music scene. Drawing on his deep skill set of imaginative and honest song writing combined with an agile, improvisational wit that dovetails wonderfully with his flawless guitar slinging, Bevan never fails to delight and charm audiences no matter what the venue.
His recordings span the gamut from folk to folk rock and pop to children’s educational music and he has won a number of awards, including an Emmy, for his commercial efforts in radio and television. Alex’s creative works have also contributed to documentary film scores.
A Child Looks At Christmas begins with a simple premise. “There was a younger one and an older one who were part of a family of loved ones,” Bevan writes, and the pair spy a dusty box in the attic. They discover a group of treasured Christmas cards inside, and so set the stage for a musical recreation of each scene depicted on the cards.
Sometimes, Bevan’s lyrics begin as poetry. “If a picture is worth a thousand words, the right couple of words create a thousand pictures,” he said. And the lyrics of A Child Looks At Christmas create near-tangible pictures—a winter setting with sleigh bells and holiday lights, a star-lit manger, stained glass, elves and reindeer.
Ironically, Bevan wrote the songs while spending summer days on Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie, conjuring up winter snow and holiday cheer despite the off-season surroundings, and he drew much of the imagery from his own experiences. The Organ and the Sparrow draws from his earlier years at the East Cleveland Baptist Church, for example, and storing decorations in the attic is one of his childhood memories.
Bevan initially wrote the collection as a solo performance, and he intended it for an intimate audience, thinking of his nieces and nephews and of his own son. “It was about creating a small legacy to pass along,” Bevan said, but he later agreed to work with Eric Benjamin, who orchestrated the songs and incorporated a children’s chorus. “Kudos to Eric,” said Bevan, “who has created the arrangements that, to me, are stunning.”
Bevan is looking forward to performing with the Philharmonic and with an expanded chorus—the Greater Tuscarawas Children’s Chorus and the Dover High School Women’s Chorus will be joining in. “You get to live in a dream for a bit and to create the perfect world,” he said. “We’re all aching for the sound of happy people.”
The concert is sponsored in part by Marlowe’s Compounding Pharmacy and Glenn Mears & Dr. Renee Miskimmin. Co-sponsors are The Rick and Becky Brinkman Family and William D. Singhaus.
Concerts are held at the Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas, 330 University Dr. NE, in New Philadelphia. There are two seating levels in the Performing Arts Center—orchestra and mezzanine on the lower level and dress circle and balcony on the upper level. All seats are reserved and prices vary depending on location and whether it is a student, senior, or adult ticket. In addition, a facility fee is added to each ticket by the Performing Arts Center.
Tickets for Philharmonic performances can be purchased at the orchestra’s website: http://TuscarawasPhilharmonic.org/, where concert-goers can see online what seats are still available and can reserve their choices by clicking on those exact seats on the diagram and paying by credit card. Tickets can also be reserved by stopping in, or by calling the PAC box office at 330-308-6400. (Philharmonic tickets are not available through the PAC’s website.)
Published: December 1, 2011
